The fight, main and proper, was over. But that did not mean Middenheim was safe, or that the siege was over. The Knights of the White Wolf pushed out from the Redoubt back to the gate and walls, to ensure that there was nobody lurking there for a second wave, and many swordsmen took to roving groups to clean the labyrinthian streets that may hide Norscans in waiting. Estaria waited for her Luck bar to get to full before going out to join one of these. With the Ar-Ulric’s blessing, it was an easy thing to cut down the mooks and very few low-orange elites that remained. The power that the head of the church wielded was immense. While finishing up one route to the Redoubt and preparing for another, she got a new popup, one that didn’t bode well.

Howl of Ar-Ulric has ended

Fatigue at 100%. Activity suspended until Fatigue reaches below 50%

"Activity suspennnnnnnnn" Estaria's confused voice didn't manage to finish her sentence as she fell forwards, her body no longer responding to the order to stay upright. She didn’t even hear the clatter of her armour hitting the ground. For her, the time from falling to waking was a heartbeat, which was why it was jarring to suddenly wake up in a bed, stripped of her armour and seemingly alone. She wondered what officer gave up his house to put her here because it was a nice place. Her sight, however, was immediately filled with a mass of boxes, such that it was hard to see anything around them.

You have levelled up

You have levelled up

You have levelled up

You have levelled up

You have levelled up

You have levelled up

You have levelled up

You have levelled up

You have levelled up

You have levelled up

You have levelled up

You have levelled up

Making a mad waving motion to shut down the twelve boxes that were telling her she had gotten the rewards of the siege, there was one below it that she had never seen before. And what it was saying was most interesting indeed.

Loot gathered. Shop price; 999,865 gold pieces. Captain’s share of 20%; 199934 gold pieces.

Estaria stared at the box, reading it and then reading it again just to make sure. This one siege had made her little under two hundred thousand gold pieces. Even if the exchange rate was 10 gold pieces to one Throne, she was still rich as an Altdorf noble. That was that, retire now, spend the rest of her life in comfort. Even hire a villa in Bretonnia, take Elaine, admire the countryside, die old and fat and happy.

But it was just a fantasy, she wasn’t going to go through with that. She had a duty to The Empire and her men, and she couldn't just abandon them to go off into the sunset. Shutting that box down, she opened her Status Screen and admired the stats.

Strength: 27 (37)

Stamina: 32

Constitution: 27 (37)

Dexterity: 46

Agility: 37

Precision: 45

Intelligence: 25

Wisdom: 25

Luck: 25

The many level ups had given her stats a healthy boost, and the training had added a few on to boot. But her main stat, which was assumed to be Precision, wasn’t as high as she would expect from it getting double rewards. Maybe it cycled between three? Main stat meaning your main bracket, not a singular stat. Would explain why the three for a more lithe body were higher than the three for a physical or mental person. Level up also meant trait points, so she went to scour that list. Having six points to spend, she went on a proper spree.

Powder Woman: Firearms are the most engaging weapon you can possibly think of, and their secrets are being pried open to feed your appetite. 50% increase to range, 30% increase to damage

Powder Matriarch: Black Powder is your Blood. While you may lack academic understanding, your practical knowhow rivals an Engineer and even the most unruly of firearms bow to you. 70% increase to range, 50% increase to damage. Imprecise is removed

Decorated Veteran: Well known, and well respected, your name is toasted to by many. Increase the rewards of Tokens, Medals and Medallions by 1.

Swordswoman: Learning the way of the sword is hard, but with practice, one can be a venerable cause on the field. Grants sub-targeting for melee weaponry.

Celerity: Swifter than most, you run with the grace of ten men and the speed of five. Add +20 to agility for the sake of movement speed.

Quick-Load: In the blink of an eye, you are ready to fire again. Spend Cool to instantly reload your firearm with a flourish

Six new traits under her belt, Estaria leaned back on the bed and smiled. Powder Matriarch made her sound old, but it would certainly help relieve people of their lives, especially when she got one of the experimental weapons from the shop. It made her wonder what she was going to spend all that gold on. But, there was still more, down in the corner, waiting for her to tap. So, she did and got even more popups.

Repeatable Quest complete:

20/10 mook enemies killed

2/1 Elite enemies killed

Gain reward: Money Box

Chose reward: Sharpshooter Medal (2), Vigor Medals (2), Sharpshooter Medal (1) Vigor Medal (1).

Estaria was unsure what Vigor medals were, so accepted the option where she got both. Her new trait increased the rewards, and so she got two of both medals. And there had been many a man who had fallen beneath her sword and gun, so she got cleared that quest three times, getting 6 medals and three Money boxes. They were opened, and a random amount of gold given to her. While it didn’t seem like much, it was still welcome. She then looked over the Vigor medals shop. It was similar to the Boss and Sharpshooter shops but dealt with the physical side of things. Melee weapons, shields, some potions. Medals counted for two tokens, and there was a potion called “The Long Haul” which she bought, and then withdrew and drunk.

The Long Haul used. Stamina increased by +5

While Estaria was thankful for making her Stamina better, the potion tasted like old shoes, and made her blanch. But with this, her stamina was equal to her strength, mostly because of the run that was hell, every day for nearly a week. It had given her many stamina points. She then looked to the Sharpshooter Medals. She did want to get the pistol, but….

Quicksilver Potion used. Agility increased by +5

Up to 42. With Celerity, she would have 62 Agility for movement. Not that it really meant anything, she didn’t know what the average was. Unless the average was 10. Which would make sense, she was an average woman when it came to the sword, and so her strength was 10 when she was level 1.

Leaving the shop - for now, she would go ogle what things she could buy later - Estaria slid out of bed and walked to the door out of the bedroom. It could only have been a few steps, and yet she felt so strange doing it, so...off balance. She was more stable than this building and it was a disconcerting feeling to be so pristinely balanced. She wasn’t meant to be this well balanced, humans were not designed to be this balanced. She kept thinking she was going to fall over because the idea of being too balanced was not one she could grasp and so her brain was defaulting to not balanced enough. Clutching to the door as if it was a stable mast in a storm, she slowly opened it and headed out. Every step was one of grace, and her head told her she should be wobbling all over the place, even though her body barely twitched. Most humans got grace and poise over years of training, so when it hit you all at once, your brain didn't have the chance to catch up.

Getting to the staircase, a servant spotted her and then scurried away for some reason. Well, at least she didn’t have to have anyone watch her walk with legs too long for her gait. The stairs were not wide, but even on her tip-toes, she felt as if they were as broad as the floor itself. By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, she decided that it was just not going to work like this. Worrying about it was like a new recruit fretting over his inexperience. It wouldn’t just vanish overnight, and only experience would solve this issue. So she took a breath and did her best to stop worrying about it. It was still weird, but she was focused on other things.

Like how her steps felt way too small and her legs way too long. It was like she was just shuffling along, barely moving one foot from the other. And so when the servant who had fled the sight returned, she found Estaria walking the length of the room, and then turning and walking back. Her strides were broad and her gait was beautiful. The woman was so fast it took her a few seconds to clear the distance before turning to do it again. But as for why….maybe she had hit her head? The servant gave a light cough, and Estaria looked up from her striding.

The servant was holding a cup of something, and it was steaming hot, indicating it had just been made. Maybe the servant fled to go make it. Who knew with these kinds of people.

“Ahh, thank you” Estaria said as she was handed the cup and took a sip. She could tell from the taste of it that it was the same as the stuff she had been given in the siege like a man can tell a misshapen bit of metal and a mastercrafted sword are still both swords. But the taste was something else entirely. The man really was right that the cold did nothing for its taste. She could quite enjoy this beverage.

“So, where do I find some clothes?” she asked the maid. The maid gestured to follow her and then ascended the stairs again. She wasn't talking though. Which, was a strange thing. Maybe it had something to do with the nice silk scarf she was wearing around her neck? Estaria didn’t want to push the point in case it was a bad set of memories for her, so just let herself get guided to a nice set of clothes, which she then donned. Finishing the cup, she replaced it in the kitchen and then went out into the world. With the bustle of the city, you wouldn’t have thought it was besieged by thousands only yesterday. Striding out into the streets and using it to get her legs under her, she found herself at the Redoubt, where many a man had perished. Borrago was there and waved to Estaria as she arrived, but even before he said anything, she noticed a very strange thing.

All the Chaos Warriors and all the Norscans were naked. Stripped to their skin and with no sign of where the loot was. She thought it highly industrious of the Middenheimers before Borrago came over.

“Good to see you up Captain. Was a scare to see you collapse. But most have their heads full with this conundrum. When we came out this morning, every foe had been stripped clean, down to their underwear, if they had any, to begin with. Nobody can explain it either!” His voice was part worried, part wonderous at this sudden and unexpected turn of events. All Estaria could do was smile and nod in amazement. How could she give her only theory of what had happened to him? That all the men had been stripped by the system, and all the things had been sold off. Looking about her, there was much work to be done, and two quests popped up by her side, enlightening her to new things.

Dynamic quest started:

Move bodies to the pyre: 0/20

Move bodies to the Cart: 0/20

Run to gather supplies: 0/5km

The dynamic quest was, an interesting concept. Plus, no shortage of bodies, so she’d certainly be able to overcomplete this one. And if it was repeatable, get a lot of stuff out of it. Whatever the rewards were.