by C. M. Carney
“And you want to, what, train him?”
"Yes. I know that is hard to believe." Aluran sighed, leaned forward onto both elbows and looked directly at me. “The power Gryph possesses once seduced me, and I knew what it was. He cannot possibly understand what a Godhead is capable of. If he is not taught how to tame the power it will seduce him, it will destroy him. It will eat him from the inside and rend his soul. Power is a drug more potent than any opiate.”
I thought back to recent events and knew Aluran was right. I had only a small taste of power in my endless time loop, and what had I done with it? I’d killed repeatedly, with no remorse and no consequences. It had become addictive.
“Gryph is a good man,” I said, annoyed at how lame my voice sounded.
“So was I.”
I was wondering if I’d gotten this whole thing wrong. What if Aluran spoke the truth? What if the Source had put me right here so that I could help Gryph? I must protect Gryph. Shut it, internal programming.
“Why should I trust you?”
“It is the eternal problem of mortal life. You must reach out with trust before you know if you can trust.”
“That’s not helping me dude.” If Aluran was offended by my lack of respect, he didn’t show it.
“I will lower my Analyze defenses and let you decide for yourself.” He closed his eyes and looked inward. A moment later he opened them again and indicated I should Analyze him. I did, and I also used Know Desires, Know Falsehoods and Know Skills on him as well.
The High God Aluran: Level 109 - H: 4,178/S: 3,163/M: 2,175/SP: 13,345
Race: Nimmerian (god)
Aluran is the High God of the Pantheon
Strengths: Godhead Tier 6. - Immunities: 75% Resistance to all Spheres of Magic. - Weaknesses: None.
You have successfully used Know Desires on The High God Aluran.
The High God Aluran wishes to atone for previous mistakes. He wants to protect the people of the Realms from all dangers. Specifically, he wants to help Gryph learn to control his Godhead.
You have successfully used Know Falsehoods on The High God Aluran.
The High God Aluran is not a perfect man, nor a perfect god, but he has no deception in his soul.
I’m not an idiot, well not a complete one anyway, so I knew that I couldn’t really trust what I was seeing. He was a god after all, so who knew what abilities he had, and what he could hide. Yet, something was making me believe. Everything Aluran had said about the seductiveness of power was correct. My endless hours of entertainment viewing had taught me nothing if not that.
You have successfully used Know Skills on The High God Aluran.
Magic Skills: Level (100% Affinity) (Tier)
Fire: 59 (J)
Air: 76 (M)
Water: 36 (A)
Earth: 55 (J)
Chthonic: 23 (A)
Empyrean: 76 (M)
Chaos: 35 (A)
Order: 45 (A)
Life: 67 (J)
Death: 27 (A)
Thought: 78 (M)
Aether: 25 (A)
Soul: 81 (M)
“Holy Shit,” I said, and then grumbled to myself that I’d said it aloud. It had taken me an unknowable eternity to get one skill to Master Tier. Aluran had leveled every Magic Skill to at least Apprentice Tier. I guess being a god for 50 years makes anything possible.
Martial Skills: Level (Tier)
Archery: 76 (M)
Small Blades: 56 (J)
Long Blades: 83 (M)
Staves/Spears: 35 (A)
Unarmed: 56 (J)
Blunt Weapons: 35 (A)
Thrown Weapons: 37 (A)
Light Armor: 35 (A)
Heavy Armor: 82 (M)
Dodge: 73 (J)
Block: 65 (J)
Stealth: 54 (J)
Aluran wasn’t just a badass wizard; the dude was also fricking Superman, if the son of Krypton was raised as a Knight of Camelot. His Long Blades skill was 83 and his Heavy Armor was 82. This dude would be impossible to kill. Maybe you should accept his help Gryph. It would be better than facing him.
Knowledge Skills: Level (Tier)
Alchemy: 55 (J)
Analyze: 77 (M)
Artifice: 67 (J)
Smithing: 77 (M)
Disarm Traps: 23 (A)
Harvest: 45 (A)
Imbuing: 87 (M)
Spell Craft: 53 (J)
Invocation: 75 (M)
Perception: 65 (J)
Divination: 35 (A)
Lock Picking: 35 (A)
Pickpocket: 12 (B)
Okay, this is just getting stupid. I had no way to know if what Aluran was showing me was the truth, but even if he was False Reporting me that only meant he was even more powerful. This suggested that Aluran was an open book and the tale that book was telling was ’surrender while you have the chance.’
He hadn’t let me Analyze him to gain my trust, but to fill my breeches in fear. To make me see that, even if he was bullshitting and intended ill will towards Gryph, it wouldn’t much matter. The dude was idiotically overpowered, but at least my Pickpocket skill was higher than his.
A Quest Prompt popped into my vision.
You have been offered the Quest: Responsible Use of Power 1
The High God Aluran has offered you a quest. Tell him where he can find Gryph so that he can help Gryph understand and control the power that he possesses. Accepting this quest will earn you Renown with the High God Aluran. Refusal will earn you Enmity with the High God Aluran AND may put the entire Realms in jeopardy.
Difficulty: Complicated. Reward: Renown and Unknown. XP: Unknown.
I was at a loss for words, and as you have probably guessed, that is a rare thing for me. I had no idea what to do. My loyalty to Gryph was strong, but it was a false loyalty. I had no free will in the situation. Course when I’d had unfettered free will I used it to kill, kill and kill some more, so maybe I didn’t deserve it. But, I found that I believed Aluran. I believe that he feared what Gryph could become if he didn’t have a mentor. Part of me even believed that he truly had the best interest of the Realms at heart.
“I can tell that you are not convinced,” Aluran said.
“I’m not as dumb as I look,” I said, and then grumbled to myself at my self-inflicted insult.
“No, you are not. In fact you are extraordinary.”
My eyes snapped up. “What do you mean?”
“You are brash and immature and sarcastic, but beyond that there is something ancient in you. Something I do not understand.”
“Like I said, I’m special.”
“Then let me help you too. Gryph, you and I, together we could make the Realms a place of peace and wonder. We can usher in a new golden age.”
“How can I trust you?”
Aluran shrugged and looked directly at me. “Ultimately you need to make that decision on your own.”
“You’re a big help here pal.”
Aluran smiled and leaned forward. “If you are willing, I’d like to gift you something. Just a small appreciation for even considering my offer. No strings attached.”
“Um sure,” I said. “Who doesn’t like swag?”
Aluran held his hands together, palms upwards and chanted in a low voice. I could not understand the words he spoke, if they were words at all, but a sphere of golden light grew in his hand.
I saw intricate geometric patterns swirl through streams of words in a language I somehow knew hadn't been spoken in the Realms in millennia. The matrix of light throbbed and pulsed and folded in upon itself. Then it calmed, becoming a mirrored globe of golden energy.
With a gentle shove the ball floated towards me. I scrambled backwards in my chair, but I could not move fast enough. The globe flew at me and impacted my chest. I expected great pain and to be flung from my chair, but instead I felt a warmth of wellbeing that soothed away the pains and the hurts I wasn’t aware I’d had until they faded. As comfort eased through my body, a prompt popped into my vision.
Aegis of the High God is a defensive shield that will prevent any power, man, beast or god, from doing harm of any kind to the user for up to one hour.
This Boon was amazing. The High God had given me a way to be immune to his power. I looked at Aluran in shock. “Quite the olive branch,” I said.
“I told you Lex, I just want to make the Realms a better place for all. Yet, I know that we have a power imbalance between us. Hopefully this Boon will make you feel more at ease. If you ever feel threatened by me, you can use it to protect yourself.”
“Yet, it will only last an hour.”
The High God spread his arms wide. “If it were permanent, then the imbalance would still exist”
“Yet tipped in my favor,” I said with a nod.
“I want to trust you Lex, but you also need to earn that trust.”
“Fair enough.”
“Help me help Gryph. Help me help you. There is so much more I can teach you both.”
I won’t lie and say that I wasn’t tempted. That is how power works after all, and make no bones, that is exactly what Aluran was offering me. Again, my mind drifted on a tide of guilt back to my actions in the inn. I’d already proven over and over that I didn't do well with power. Maybe Aluran could help me tame my worst instincts.
But something was still not right. I needed a second opinion. I knew what I had to do, I just didn’t know if Aluran would let me do it. Only one way to find out. I took a last sip of my wine and held my glass up to the steward. This drew Aluran’s attention and the fingers of my left hand, hidden under the table, began to cast Commune.
Aluran’s eyes snapped up to mine, and I felt him use the Analyze Perk Spell Osmosis on me. A fierce and invisible battle of wills began and as the mists rolled in and time stopped, I felt sweat trickle from my temple and down my face.
My old pal Rubik floated up, still sporting my stolen eyeball. That one was a bit of a mind screw. How did I still have mine when he also had mine?
Or did he? Was Rubik’s physical form living information? If so, it would explain how he possessed my eye, while it still sat snug and cozy in my own skull. Maybe he was like a photocopier of things. After all, I kept all my knowledge and experience each loop, but none of the loot.
Regardless, it was still creepy as all get out being stared at by a giant version of your own eye, but I had no time to ponder that particular quirk of multi realm quantum game mechanics. I was about to ask the most important question of my life.
“Is Aluran the right person to be Gryph’s mentor and guide in the Realms?”
NO, Rubik thought directly into my mind.
I felt my body seize up in apprehension and fear. “Shit, what do I do now?” I was so lost in my own worrisome thoughts that I almost failed to notice that Rubik was still here, staring at me with unblinking eyes. I looked at him and he lifted his right arm. He folded two of his three rubbery fingers down and slowly moved the single digit towards me. I freaked out inside, remembering the last time the cube’s fingers had come towards me.
“Um, Rubik old pal, what’s up?”
I wanted to back up, but the odd physics of the Order Realm made every step back a float forward for Rubik. His finger came to my chest, but this time he did not dig into my flesh and remove bits of me for a mid-day snack. This time he simply laid his finger above my heart. I looked down and then back up at Rubik’s eyes. He held the finger there for a moment and then tapped my chest three times. Then he turned and floated away. The mists faded and time began again.
I nearly jumped from my seat. I felt the tingle of Aluran’s Spell Osmosis Perk and felt a wall of will slam down in my mind. A scowl crossed the High God’s face.
“I thought we were getting to be friends?”
“We are,” I said, forcing calm into my mind and body. “But, trust is a two-way street.”
A small scowl turned Aluran’s mouth down, but he quickly banished it and smiled. “You are of course correct.”
That’s when I saw it, a small mote of darkness in his eyes. I don’t think Aluran was lying, even now, but he was not the master of his darker impulses that he played at being. Perhaps he wanted to help Gryph. Perhaps he wished to make the Realms a better place. But in that moment, I saw the darkness that still lived inside him. I saw it because it was the same darkness that lived in me.
“Gryph needs someone to guide him,” Aluran said, his voice all certainty and sincerity.
I brought my hand to my face and stroked at my beard, for all the world acting like a man making a tough decision. But my fingers were busy, searching amidst the tangled strands of matted hair. They found the small object I’d hidden there and held it in a death grip. I’d pickpocketed the vial of poison off of Seraphine as I’d stumbled from the Shining Unicorn Inn. I knew it was a desperate move and my fingers shook in fear as I pulled my hand away from my beard. I looked up at Aluran trying to stop my hand from shaking.
“That someone needs to be me, Lex. You know it to be true.”
“No man, that’s my job.”
I opened the small vial and drank the horrid black liquid down in a quick gulp.
Debuff Added. You have been Poisoned.
You have been poisoned by the Bane of Life, an acidic poison that is melting your body.
Bane of Life is immune to Counter Agents and renders Healing Spells and Potions ineffective for 10 seconds.
50 Dmg/Sec for 10 seconds.
Knowing what was about to happen made this time far worse. It started with my lips and then bubbled into my mouth and down my throat. My teeth melted, and a hole appeared in my throat. I coughed up blood as the poison boiled away my flesh.
Aluran leaped over the table in a single bound and landed gently next to me. He cast healing spells and quickly scowled as he realized they were ineffective.
“What have you done?” He said in anger, and for the first time, I saw the true Aluran, the dark being he struggled so hard to tame and hide. He pulled his arm back and punched down with all his might. It was a move of uncontrolled anger and frustration. The stone of the floor next to my head splintered under the angry blow.
Despite the agony tearing through my body I laughed, well I tried to laugh, but that’s really damn hard to do when your mouth and throat have melted. What came out was a pathetic pained sputter. So I did the only other thing I could think of.
I extended both middle fingers and gave the douche the double bird.
☠☠☠☠☠
12
I was back again where it all started. Mug smacked the table with a shock of energy. Gaarm gave me his stupid grin. “I’m all in,” he said, but my mind was elsewhere. I was still in this damned loop. Was this permanent? Was I forever doomed to repeat the same damn day over and over, for all eternity.
“Maybe I should have taken Bechard’s offer,” I said, doubt creeping through me.
“Hey Dwarf, what do you wanna do?” Gaarm grumbled.
“I’m Ordonian," I said. “Yeah, I know, I know, but trust me that’s what it says.” I tossed my card on top of the pile of coins and folded.
“But sir, you have the winning hand,” the dealer said.
“I cheated and I’m really sorry. It’s your lucky day Gaarm.” I stood, walked to the bar and ordered a goblet of Master Grimslee’s Eldarian fire wine. I sipped at it while I thought on my predicament. If this time loop I was stuck in was anything like the movie Groundhog’s Day, then I needed to learn a lesson, or become a better person, or achieve some task before I could break free.
Apparently that task was not telling a god to go fuck themselves as fun as that had been. I must protect Gryph. I really did not like that little voice, but after scowling at it and telling it to shut up, something occurred to me like a punch to the gut. The answer had been there the whole time; I’d just lost sight of it through all the murder and mayhem.
“I have to protect Gryph,” I said.
“That’s what life is all about. Protecting the ones you love,” Grimslee said and poured himself a glass. He held his glass up and we toasted. “To Gryph.”
“I don’t really like the guy,” I said and took a sip.
“That’s how it works sometimes. I hate my wife most days, but I love her, and I’d kill to protect her.”
“You know pal, you may be onto something,” I said. Maybe it was that simple. Protecting Gryph wasn’t just preventing the Agent from taking me to Aluran. It wasn’t just discovering how little I could trust the High God. To truly protect Gryph, and the Realms, I had to change. I had to become a better me. I had to realize that despite being programmed for loyalty, I still had a choice. That choice was to become the mentor Gryph needed.
There was just one more thing I needed to do before I could begin my journey towards enlightenment. I needed to kill the Agent. I can’t say why, but I was fairly certain that my internal change had broken the loop. Call it intuition, or perhaps faith. Dammit Vonn, did you make me a believer?
I was certain of one thing though; I still needed to kill the Agent. Either I was still in the loop and killing her was the final key, or the loop had already been broken. Which meant if she captured me, I’d likely sing like a baby to Aluran. And if I killed myself in any of the dozen fun ways I’d done in the past, it would be permanent. It felt strange, after dying thousands of times, I suddenly found my life to be very precious. But, it would all be for nothing if the Agent captured me.
I made a few preparations, but now that I had the Boon from Aluran I planned to handle the heavy lifting on my own. Part of me wondered just how I’d gained exactly what I needed to defeat Aluran’s Agent from the High God himself. I was sure that he knew nothing about the time loop, but it still seems incredibly coincidental.