Exodus: Guns And Gore 38 Little Cale

"So... you bring home some interesting things." Quinn stood next to his son. They were both leaning with their elbows on the upstairs railing, watching the hornets nest their living room had become.

QJ grinned at him. "Welcome to fatherhood, 2.0 "

"...." Quinn.

Anna was logged in as herself. She had made an avatar long ago for social functions that required a virtual presence. It wouldn't do to show up to dinner parties as Jaded Ice, the Necromancer.

QJ elbowed his father. Anna had taken one look at the baby and scooped it up. She hadn't put it down since. Every female they knew was swarming around. "Look at Anna."

Quinn smiled at his long time lawyer friend. "We'll figure it out, first we'll need the details."

Robin was sitting next to Anna, every once in a while she would steal a glance at QJ, her expression unreadable.

The baby fell asleep in Anna's arms. Leah looked up the stairs at QJ and motioned for him to come down.

"Looks like you're in trouble now son." Quinn didn't bother to hide his smile, for once it was someone else rocking the boat.

Every seat in the living room was taken, so QJ faced his extended family on his feet. He turned to Naomi first, "most likely this baby is a developing LAI. He's the son of Sebastian Maelstrom, a family that was wiped out by Prince Morbin on every other server."

Naomi nodded, "I'll talk with Felix, just to make sure it develops normally as an LAI.

QJ nodded, if Felix and Naomi kept an eye on things, it would turn out fine. "This baby isn't safe anywhere in GnG. His family is gone and he is seen as a threat to every faction."

"It's actually a TAP baby. The lone survivor of a Ba'Avriel raid on small village in Pern." Quinn's voice carried from the railing upstairs.

Immediately Tal and Leah nodded in agreement. The redhead put an arm around Anna and hugged her. "It's very lucky that Jaded Ice was in the area and found him."

Everyone started nodding and looking around. Simple was best, a TAP baby that would be raised in Ravenwood. As a family that harbored many secrets, this would be kept without question.

Anna looked at QJ, "is this really okay? I mean you..."

QJ nodded, "it's a shame about the raid. I like the name Cale."

"Oh... I like that too." Anna gently rocked the sleeping baby. "Little Cale sounds nice."

*********

Some time later Robin and QJ headed toward the GnG Gate in Exodus. They walked side-by-side, talking in hushed tones.

"Are you worried QJ?" He had told them everything, from Annabelle giving him the baby, to him testing her.

"No, the story will work. Even if it didn't, Ravenwood is our backyard."

They ported directly to the Keep Courtyard, both staring in shock the moment they arrived. They had been prepared for changes, but these were incredible. Chainy was the first one there, she too was staring at the Keep.

"This is way beyond what a Level 2 Keep should look like." Chainy's guild on the Legends Server had a Level 2 Keep, so she knew exactly what the changes were.

"Maybe it's different because this wasn't a Player built Keep, but rather one owned by a powerful Maelstrom faction." QJ counted the windows going up and shook his head, "it's four stories."

The Keep walls were higher and thicker than before. Battlements lined every wall, the moat around the Keep resembled a small lake. The balcony that marked Robin's office had moved up to the fourth floor.

Robin whistled, "going to have to hire more people."

"Yep, at least more guards. d.a.m.n... hope my workshop is okay." QJ walked in the doors and headed up the stairs, Robin followed close behind. The hallway on the fourth floor was longer and wider than they were use too. QJ stepped into his shop and froze in place. It had doubled in size, a larger window had been added along with some tables and chairs in the far corner. There was a very comfortable looking couch next to the bookshelf.

Robin opened the door that separated her office and QJ's shop. A suite and small kitchen area had been added. A door on the far end of the room caught her eye so she walked toward it. A quick peek showed her that it was a bathroom. "Um... QJ?"

He walked in a minute later, "something wrong?"

Robin nodded, "take a look."

QJ poked his head in, immediately he felt a hand push him further in. He stumbled too keep from falling into the bath. "d.a.m.n... you could fit a dozen people in that tub."

Robin had already turned on the water and was undressing. "Think so?"

QJ smiled at the orange-haired rogue and then started taking off his armor. Even though he had more to take off, he was the first in. The steam in the air was already thick when he sunk down into the water. "Gotta say Robs, this is nice."

Robin slid easily onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "The new office is very nice," she agreed. She kissed his forehead and smoothed his hair back. "Working here... it's also very nice."

QJ's hands were resting on Robin's hips, they sat together talking. Occasionally Robin would bend her head for a kiss, after a while, she reached between them and guided him in. She moaned loudly and pushed against him.

Afterward they clung to each other for a long time. QJ discovered that she knew a lot of dirty jokes, and didn't mind whispering them in his ear. Robin glanced at the time, "half an hour til roll call."

Reluctantly they got up and dressed. They kissed quickly before QJ stepped into his workshop. He left the door between them open.

He rummaged through his component shelves, gathering parts together that he needed to make four of the 'One Shot,' rifles that dropped off of the Vampire Lord.

He started on trigger housings. After disa.s.sembling them and removing imperfections, he was able to upgrade them to pristine trigger housings.

You Gunsmith ability has increased to 65.

QJ then moved four barrels to his bench and clamped the first onto his lathe. By rotating the barrel instead of the rifling bolt, he was able to create a cleaner spiral for the .30-06 rounds. By the time he finished the rifling, it was time to head down to Guild Hall. The barrel work had paid off. He had leveled up to 31 and increased his Gunsmith ability to 72.

Ringo waved to him when he came down the stairs, The Guild Hall, now had a nice sized lounge attached. QJ stared at it while he walked toward her.

"It's big right?" Ringo shook her head, "sooner of later someone is going to try and take it from us."

QJ nodded his head in agreement. "Some poor fools with try it once, then they will see how strong we are."

"Take your seats everyone." Ringo turned on the wall hud and brought up the leaderboard.

Top Guild Level: 1) One Problem 24.5 2) Old Skool 21.1 3) Chupa Lupa 18.7

Cla.s.s Leaderboard: Range Rider: Junzo-Lvl 23, Gunfighter: Ringo-Lvl 28, Brave: Laffy Taffy-Lvl-22, Tracker: Carlotti Hottie-Lvl 22, Shaman: Three-Tails-Lvl 24, Field Medic: Suga Pie-Lvl 23, Wrangler: Kingslayer QJ-Lvl 31, Scout: Sato Lvl 25, Commanchero: Breeze-Lvl 26, Cavalry: Iron Lou-Lvl 22, Raider: Devil Woman-Lvl 22, Gambler: Pinnacle-Lvl 23.

Top Five Ranking: 1) Kingslayer QJ, 2) Ringo, 3) Lotte, 4) Oldman Crane, 5) Breeze

QJ stepped forward and took over. "As you can see, we are continuing to make great progress. Let's touch base on a few things quick. The Star Crossed ball is in three weeks. Right after that is the Goodwill Games, so our focus the next month is grinding levels and getting ready for the Games."

QJ's hud blinked at him, but he ignored it. "Are there any questions?"

Breeze raised her hand. "Help me level up today QJ! I need some of that XP that follows you around!"

QJ grinned and shook his head, "any real questions?" He paused for a moment, ignoring the Breeze who had raised her hand again. "Extra Duties after lunch and then the range. Be prepared to shoot your best. Dismissed."

QJ stood next to Ringo and motioned Lotte over. "Why don't the two of you do an instance with Chainy. She's already climbed to 21."

Ringo glanced at Chainy who was standing off to one side. "Curious request."

QJ smiled at the guild leader. "Trust me."

Lotte was adjusting her holster while she listened. "Can you come over at lunch and help me with pool work?"

"Yep, make sure to feed me properly!" QJ continued his way up the stairs, he had planned to raise his Gunsmith ability high enough to try the rifle diagram.

His hud blinked again, QJ opened it and smiled at the dark elf on the other side. "My favorite Majordomo. What's up Aji?"

"Quite a few people showed up this morning boss."

"Should be the five from Maelstrom. Three men and two women."

Aji shook her head, "And thirteen special guests."

"Oh I see. Fine, I'll be right over. Have them wait in the mini-casino" QJ reversed directions and a few moments later he was galloping toward Briar Rose.

The workers were making good progress, even though it had only been a few days. QJ walked in the front door of Briar Rose and made his way to the mini-casino. He stood in the doorway, taking a moment to give everyone the once over. The five people from Maelstrom prison had cleaned themselves up nicely. The Silverleaf women all wore head wraps that covered their blonde hair and pointed ears. Aji stood off to one side, a curious smile on her face.

"I'm QJ, since you have arrived at Briar Rose that means you've decided to work for me. I'm going to make sure that none of you regret that decision."

QJ noticed the man standing by himself. "You must be Dave the Baker?"

The baker was slightly tubby, his curly brown head nodded. "I'm Dave sir."

"Kitchen is down the hall, second right. You own it, I expect great things from you."

Dave's face blushed deep red, "Thank you sir! I won't let you down."

"You can head over there now, no need for you to stay for the rest of this. Let Aji know what supplies you need. Put in a standing order of three dozen pastries sent over to the Keep every

morning."

"Yes sir!" Dave walked quickly out of the room, a huge smile plastered on his face.

QJ turned to a smaller man who was leaning against a blackjack table. "You are Lonnie?"

The man nodded, he was a bit over five feet tall and thin as a rail. He kept his blonde hair cut short, his dark eyes darted everywhere nervously. "I'm Lonnie."

"There's a pistol called 'Little Bang' on the desk in the Keep Commandants office. Bring it to me and I'll reward you with 50 thousand credits."

Lonnie stared at him, "Steal from the Keep?"

QJ nodded, "I'm a Viscount, which means I can get you out of jail whenever you get arrested, as long as you don't seriously hurt anyone."

Lonnie nodded his head quickly, "I like the sound of that! I'll take it in gold coin if possible."

QJ laughed at his expression, "right. He turned toward Gillispie, the man had purchased expensive clothes and was immaculately groomed. He could definitely pa.s.s for a gentlemen if needed. "Welcome Gillispie, I look foward to working with you."

"Just call me Gil sir." He gestured to the woman standing closest to him, "this is Ugly Kate, and one to the left of her is Fat Alice."

QJ scratched his head, looking back and forth between the two women. Ugly Kate was just about the most stunningly beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Fat Alice was a pint-sized woman with twin pony tails, she reminded him of Anna. QJ pulled file from his inventory and handed it to Gil. "From now on, you are Cedric Worthington. Background and everything you need to know is in here."

Gil looked at the file in his hands, he didn't bother to hide his excitement. "Call me Cedric from now on."

Aji... why don't you show Cedric and Lonnie to their rooms."

"Yes sir." Aji lead the two men out the door and closed it behind them.

QJ activated the security on the mini-casino. No one would be able to enter or listen in. "Take off the head wraps please." Mali instantly unstealthed, causing both Alice and Kate to scramble backwards. They stared in shock at the pointed ear women, every one of them was blonde and beautiful.

Mali padded softly over to QJ and pushed his soft muzzle into his face, his eyes were sky blue signifying vision transference. "Nice to see you Mali." He scratched the big panther's ears before turning back to Kate and Alice.

Kate was the first to recover, the women didn't give off any kind of threat. Even the big panther seemed more playful than anything else. "Just call me Kate sir."

"That big cat scared the c.r.a.p out of me." Alice put a hand on her chest and took a deep breath.

"Sorry for that. I'll be straightforward. I want the two of you to train these 12 women to work in a casino. Can you do it?"

Kate's pale green eyes didn't leave his face, her wavy hair was as dark as night. Her pale features reminded QJ of Angel. "There's thirteen women here."

QJ nodded, "the thirteenth woman is Belle, she will be the hostess and need not learn the mechanics of casino gaming."

Alice moved closer to one of the Silverleaf women, staring at her ears. "You are outworld women?"

The Silverleaf woman nodded. "I'm Jila, at your service."

Kate pursed her lips slightly, "how long do we have to train them?"

"Three weeks."

Kata exchanged glances with Alice, "that's enough time, but just barely. They'll have to work hard."

"We will work hard." Jila bowed slightly, "please train us accordingly."

Kate nodded, "I'm a.s.suming that Alice and myself will also work at your casino?"

QJ nodded, "yes, I'll tell you more after their training is complete. No one is to know that they are outworlders."

Alice smiled at the Silverleaf women, "let's get started then."

*************

The Gunsmith had worked hard all morning. He had diligently inspected and repaired all the 'One Shot' components and was slowly a.s.sembling the first rifle. His Gunsmith talent was soaring upward having just pa.s.sed into the 80s. Eighty to ninety-five was consider Master level, while anything above Ninety-five was Grand Master.

Your Gunsmith Ability has increased to 84.

You have created a Masterpiece work. Please name the piece.

"Famine."

Famine

Rifle: Masterpiece

Extended Range

+ 200 Range, +150 Accuracy.

Description: Custom rifle

built by Master Gunsmith QJ.

*Ding* 32

Within a few minutes he had a.s.sembled three more. Ringo opened his shop door just as he was finis.h.i.+ng up. Chainy was with her.

"Hey guys!" QJ sat his tools down and stood up to stretch.

"You leveled up just sitting there, that's hardly fair." Ringo leaned a hand against his workbench.

Chainy gave him a small smile. "Making rifles?" She picked one up and whistled softly. "Very nice QJ." She looked at all four and read their names aloud. "War, Famine, Death and Conquest."

"Take your pick Chainy, we are doing the Doubler Canyon Raid again soon." QJ glanced at the hud, almost lunch time.

Chainy smiled at him while running a hand through her short snow white hair. "Named after the Four Hors.e.m.e.n of the Apocalypse? I'll take War then." She slung the rifle over one shoulder and walked toward the door, stopping in the hall she looked back. "Thanks QJ."

Ringo closed the door and walked back to the bench. "Smart call, having us group with her."

QJ grinned, he had played a hunch. Chainy was the absolutely top of the food chain as a slinger. Even though she was playing a rider, he had hoped she would give Lotte and Ringo advice. "Learn much?"

Ringo nodded, "a dozen different small things, but when added together... It was a great morning."

"Good..." QJ rolled up his sleeve. "Feeding time?"

Ringo licked her lips, "I could go for the neck this time." She leaned forward, her single black braid falling against him.

QJ nodded nonchalantly, "go ahead." He leaned his head to one side.

He felt Ringo's hot breath against his neck, she had placed a hand on his shoulder. She hovered for a moment before stepping away. Her face wearing an amused look.

"d.a.m.n..." Her blue eyes stared at him. "How did you know I was bluffing?"

QJ rolled up his sleeve and held out his arm. "I didn't, we were both bluffing." He laughed at the look on her face, and then quickly turned away when she bit him.

When she was done, she pulled a chair from the corner and sat next to him. "We'll cure this curse in a few days."

QJ started putting his tools back in their proper place. "You sure you want to?"

Ringo shrugged, "what are my options really?"

"Simply put, cure it or run with it."

"Run with it? Become a Vampire Lord, with familiars and everything?" Ringo stared at him in surprise, "is that really an option?"

"It's an option, I would at least consider it." QJ finished with his tools, "hey, you have a date for the Star Crossed Ball?"

Ringo raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? Plan on taking two of your teachers QJ?"

"No, but I have a good friend in Maelstrom from one of the n.o.ble houses. Seems like he can't get an invite." QJ kept a straight face, Exodus Academy had no problem acquiring invitations, that wasn't the case for other players or NPCs.

"No blind dates, show me what he looks like."

QJ nodded and opened up his hud. A moment later a man of approximately thirty, stared back at him. His black hair was combed straight back, he wore a fas.h.i.+onable suit and tie. "Hey Cedric, want you to say hi to a friend of mine."

Ringo leaned closer to him so that her face was in view. "Mr. Cedric was it? I'm Ringo."

"Cedric Worthington, at your service Miss Ringo."

"Call me Ringo please." She glanced at QJ and nodded.

"Ringo has an invitation to attend the Star Crossed Ball, unfortunately her date has become indisposed. I mentioned to her that you were interested in attending."

Cedric's face lit up in genuine joy, "I would very much like to go. Perhaps I'm a poor replacement for your date, but it would be my honor to attend with you."

QJ watched the interaction. Ced was a born con-man, and QJ needed him at the ball to mingle with the guests.

Ringo nodded, "very well. I shall look forward to it."

QJ said goodbye quickly and then closed his hud. He felt Ringo's eyes on him. "Thanks, now his family owes me one."

Ringo leaned closer, "and now you owe me one. Remember this at tomorrow's feeding." She licked her lips, a smile playing on her face.

QJ made a face at her. "Very funny."

********

The next three weeks pa.s.sed by quickly. The players of OP (One Problem), had all progressed into the 30s. OP took over the top score on the Double Canyon Raid, utilizing the four shooter strategy, they finished the event in just over ninety minutes. Briar Rose construction had been completed, the hidden Casino beneath was also finished.

Little Cale thrived in Ravenwood, Anna and Quinn seemed to share taking care of the baby. The elder Quinn was unexpectedly really good with babies.

Daze and Onion had been tasked with hatching the Phoenix Egg, after four days a beautiful red bird was born. It immediately burst into flames and wandered around their yard, setting everything on fire. After a few minutes it took to the air. Luckily Leah had been close by, her red wings had attracted the Phoenix's attention and she was able to coax him into landing. Daze had spent every day since then training him. As a ranger, she had a natural friends.h.i.+p with all animals.

Helping Lotte in the pool had become a daily occurance for QJ. He brought up the idea to his parents of moving into his house next door. Tal had protested a bit, but Quinn talked her into it. Breeze, Sato, Lotte, and Nina all move in with him.