POV Rio
I had spent the last two weeks doing something that made a lot of sense. Grinding. Since this world wasn't a game, a person's level did not scale to me. So it made sense to grind out several levels. And in order to do so, I used what made the most sense to me. I used the workshop to build Sanctuary into a fortress. I also cleared out the nearby area once I got a couple of levels, which I put into Science. Every 25 levels of Science, I unlocked a new rank of weapon and armor mods.
Stats
Level: 13
Skills:
Cracking: 50
Barter: 1
Energy Guns: 1
Explosives: 1
Guns: 1
Magic: 20
Medicine: 1
Melee Weapons: 1
Science: 50
Sneak: 49
Survival: 1
Unarmed: 1
Perks:
Archmage Legacy Rank 2
Idiot Savant Rank 2
Lead Belly Rank 3
Taintless Will Rank 1
Your mind is your fortress. Corruption, decay, and psychic rot stop at your horn.
Effect: You are immune to fear, mind control, and magical corruption. Healing spells remove taint/corruption and most diseases from allies.
Traveler Rank 2
Rank 1: Hold your V.A.T.S key to see the path to your closest quest target. You also move 15% faster with your weapon holstered.
Rank 2: You gain 50% more XP from exploration, and have all map locations revealed on your Pip-Boy.
Griffon's Eye Rank 2
Old, grouchy, and wiser than he lets on. You've learned from him and have inherited his eye for a good deal and the debts owed to him.
Rank 1: Vendors carry +25% more caps and rare loot.
Rank 2 (Level 10): Bartering grants a 10% chance to receive extra loot or a rare item. (X)
Rank 3 (Level 22): You can call in favors from old "debts": once per 10 in-game days, summon a griffon mercenary for free. (Mercenary despawns on death and is loyal)
Rank 4 (Level 34): You gain Gilded Legacy: Once per week, A random hidden vault cache appears on your map. Summoned mercenaries will come with their own gear and will never run out of ammo for their weapons. You become a respected and close friend of the griffon species.
I chose perks that would help me in the short term but still be useful for my long-term goals. Such as Idiot Savant, which is not that reliable, but over time it will pay back what I invested in it. Traveler was decent, but its second rank was truly powerful. It didn't give me a map of only the Commonwealth; instead, it gave me a complete map of Earth with all locations revealed but not discovered. It even had the exact coordinates, should I ever need to use it for teleportation.
Other perks were chosen for their utility. Lead Belly made all the food I ate have no radiation, and further, it tripled the healing they gave. Taintless Will was chosen, as from what I knew, I was not immune to mind control, and I was able to read what corruption/taint was in my spell book. And from what I read, it was something I would never want to happen to me. Especially since I was more likely to become corrupted due to my large mana capacity.
As for my skill investments. I chose Cracking so I could bypass locks and terminals that would otherwise stop me in my tracks. While I could make some devices to bypass them, it would be a fairly large resource and time sink when I have a much easier alternative. Magic was increased slightly just to make my magic stronger and easier to cast. Sneak was chosen as I am more or less a stealth archer.
I found a bow, some arrows, a perk magazine called Wasteland Survival Guide #9, Hunting in the Wastes, and various pieces of scrap in an old cabin called the Ranger Cabin. I also found the mutilated corspe of a hunter and a few Bloatflies. I was lucky enough to kill most of the flies before they could close the distance. The corpse was in really bad condition, but I was still able to loot some good armor from it. Specifically, 3 pieces of Heavy Leather Armor, 25 arrows, a wooden bow, and a pair of binoculars. Once I picked up the bow, I unlocked the crafting recipe for bows and arrows. Bows aren't the strongest, but they are a fairly quiet weapon.
'And there are no strength requirements to use it. Nor does it use more energy than any other ranged weapon.'
But all that led me to today. I had scavenged the local area for most of the materials I could. Including a massive shipment of concrete, I discovered at an old shipping yard. I had also traded with a caravan and, more importantly, a local trader whom I completed a quest for. He was having issues with local raiders, and I just so happened to need to get rid of them anyway, as they were very close to Sanctuary. So I wiped them out, and the trader then thanked me with the contact info and route of a caravan that passes through the area. Without him, I would have been shot on sight due to me not looking human at all, and caravans being a bit jumpy with the increased raider activity since the Minutemen collapsed.
Which led me to what I was doing now. The trader named Timothy had also suggested I head to a local settlement called Abernathy Farm to do more trading. You may be wondering why I was doing so much trading. The simple answer was that I needed a lot of supplies to build Sanctuary, and while I scavenged all I could, I still needed other supplies. But there were also some supplies I couldn't get otherwise, like Stimpaks, Radaways, and ammo. I also had a decent amount of things that were not that useful for me but valuable to others, such as raider guns, that, when placed in my inventory, became pristine condition. Or the sizeable amount of Chems that I found and made that I couldn't use. They give a lot of experience when making them, but just throwing them away would make no sense.
I stopped walking and took out my binoculars to peer out.
"Ah, that must be it. I mean, I don't think there are a lot of farms built under a power pylon. Ok, now remember, no sudden moves, and don't scare them. Look non-threatening," I say to myself, to build confidence.
I didn't want to get shot today, as I have been shot once already, and it was not pleasant. Luckily, I don't suffer from the usual issues related to injuries, such as bleeding and infections. As I am thinking about my unique constitution, I have to stop as Blake Abernathy raises a pistol and says to halt.
"Hold there, I am not sure what you are, but if you are here to cause problems, then you'd best move along. We are armed and willing to fight if it comes to it," Blake warns.
"I'm not here to cause trouble. I was told I could come here to trade," I respond calmly while raising my hands.
"Who told you we are doin' any trading here?" Blake asks with narrowed eyes.
"A trader named Timothy, a little way Northwest of here, told me," I respond honestly.
That seems to calm him down quite a bit as he lowers his pistol a bit.
"Old Timothy? I haven't seen him in a bit. How's his dog doing?" Blake asks.
"He doesn't have a dog, but he does have a cute little cat named Mittens. As for how he is doing well, he had some problems with raiders that prevented him from making the trip here to see you guys," I respond to his test.
My answer calms him completely, and he puts his gun away.
"Sorry for the gun, I just had to be sure you weren't going to cause issues. As for trading, yeah, you can do that here. Talk to my wife, Connie. She's the beautiful woman in the green mechanics jumpsuit. But before you go, I have a proposition," Blake apologizes.
"I am listening," I respond to the offer.
"Well, from what you said, it sounded like Timothy no longer has issues with raiders, and I hope it's not a presumption to say that you dealt with them for him," Blake asks.
"Yes, I dealt with the raiders. There were not too many, but there were a few groups instead of just one group," I respond truthfully.
"Well, you see, we have had issues with raiders in the past. We used to be able to count on the Minutemen to protect us, but after they disappeared, the raiders have been getting more active lately. At first, it wasn't too bad. A gang of raiders would make us pay protection money, but in exchange, they left us alone and made sure other gangs left us alone as well. They were civil, or at least as civil as radiers can be. But all that changed when the new boss took over. She came with over a dozen radiers and demanded payment like before, but this time it was triple the previous payments," Blake said with a grim look.
"We could never afford that, but they were uninterested in excuses. They told us we had to pay or else they would kill us all. At first, we paid them, but what was even worse was that they didn't even stop other gangs from raiding us, and they would harass us by shooting at us from a distance. When they came to take their payment again, I was ready to pay them, but my sweet Mary. My daughter. She stood up to them. They shot her dead without a shred of mercy. She wasn't even a threat to them, but they killed her anyway. They took everything she had and left her body to rot. They took a locket from her. It has been in Connie's family for generations. It would mean the world to us if you could get it back," Blake requested.
"I am willing to try, but I need more info. I can't just run into this blindly. Do you know where they are from, and how many of them there are?" I ask.
"I can answer that. I am pretty sure they are coming from the old USAF Olivia base to the Northeast of here. One of them mentioned it when they were here. As for how many there are, I can't rightly say. My best guess would be around 2 dozen or so. But I don't need you to wipe them out. I just want the locket back. I don't want to send you to your death. If you can just retrieve the locket, I will make it worth your while. I can pay, and I will give you access to the workshop here. And if you ever need anything from us, just let us know and we will help. Oh, and don't mention this to Connie. She doesn't need to worry about this," Blake says with a worried face.
"Too late, I already know," Connie says while revealing herself.
"Connie! You heard that?" Blake says with a shout.
"Of course, I heard everything you said. This farm isn't that big. But more importantly, I have a request for the stranger," Connie says while looking at me.
"I want you to kill Ack-Ack and her gang. I know that this is no easy task, so I am willing to offer you a 25% discount while shopping here and will even give you this," Connie offers while taking out a very dangerous weapon from her pocket.
"Jesus, Connie, where the hell did you get that?!" Blake says while backing away.
In her hand is a Plasma Grenade. Still in pretty good condition.
"I got it before I met you. Back when I was more adventurous. I discovered this in an old crate and kept it ever since. I'm no soldier, but you look like you might know how to handle weapons like this. So if you agree, I will give you this Plasma Grenade. I don't care what you do with it. Whether you use it to kill Ack-Ack or not. Just promise me she and her murderers will be wiped out. Can you do that?" Connie asks while staring into my eyes.
I can see the desperation and anger in her eyes. The eyes of a mother who lost her child.
"I'll do it. But I will add the condition that I can't guarantee I will get every member of her gang. I don't know how many members they have, nor do I know where all of them are. I will probably miss a few that aren't at their base. But I can promise that Ack-Ack will die. If you can accept that I will accept the request," I say while not breaking eye contact.
"Good. I wouldn't ask for anything else. Now I have some stuff to trade if you are looking to buy. I will give you a little discount on any supplies you need to kill those monsters. I will say I don't have much to offer. Caravans haven't been through here in a little while," Connie offers while walking over to the main building.
I follow her, and Blake just shrugs and goes back to tending the farm.
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Authors Note:
If anyone wants to know what the other perks do, they are the same as the vanilla Fallout 4 perks. If the perks are not changed from their original then I will just add a note at the end of the chapter including what game they come from. I do this so I don't bog down the whole chapter with the descriptions of the perks and can move on to the story more. Idiot Savant Rank 2 and Lead Belly Rank 3 are both from Fallout 4 and are basically unchanged from said game. Archmage's Legacy was spelled out in a previous chapter, so I didn't repeat it here. I will likely make an Auxiliary Chapter later on when he gets to level 25 or so, which includes a full stat sheet for Rio. Now, for the summoned Griffons, they are basically made of magic, so Rio isn't summoning them so much as he is creating them. Also, you can suggest possible perks if you like. I may or may not use them, but if I do use them, I will credit the creator of the perk. Until next time, Ciao.