by M J Conlon
“Well. Thank you, and it has been a pleasure.” Derick said, trying to get out while he still had some dignity left. He then kicked himself once again, “oh and are you okay?” Derick asked, mentally kicking himself for not even asking if she was okay, even after checking on the guards.
“Oh, so you finally ask?” Penelope asked with a flirtatious lilt to her voice. Derick felt his cheeks begin to burn with embarrassment again as he felt his gaze shift to the ground.
“Sorry, I meant to, right after the guards. But then I heard you were a priestess, but not just any priestess but one that was also third in line to the crown. Then I realized that you were way out of my depths and then I felt so stupid…” Derick cut himself off, realizing how stupid he must sound, then really wanted to leave. He thought about teleporting right then and there, but didn’t know where he would go to.
“Way out of your depths?” Penelope asked, the words again rolling around her accent beautifully.
“Yeah, I realized that a simple man such as myself would never be able to offer you.” Derick searched for the right word, then just continued to go “anything that you would want.” He could hear her begin to laugh. With that laugh Derick thought about all the times he would escape to the sound of the ocean box in his room and listen to the gentle crashing of electronic waves. Then not even thinking about it, Derick mentally scanned the entire planet for a secluded piece of land that was currently facing to sunset, then he created an instant portal that dropped him off to a remote stretch of beach that was far away from anything else on Triton. Fortunately as the name implied there was more ocean than land masses, creating plenty of silent secluded places where Derick could think.
“Oh my gosh.” The beautiful lilt of Penelope’s sweet voice broke out over the gentle crashing of waves beating against a sandy shore. “This is so beautiful” Penelope exclaimed running out in front of him. Only then did he feel her fingers leave his hair. Shit, what have I done?
“Wait, sorry I can take you back.” Derick said, running after her.
“Go back? Why?”
Why? The word seemed to be so easy for him to answer a second ago, but so hard to answer currently. Derick watched as the princess instantly began jumping up and down, holding her dress high up around her waste line, as she began to enter the water. This is amazing, she said, while laughing and kicking her feet through the sand and surf.
“How did you know I like the ocean?” She asked, before twirling around, seeing the sun beginning to set then twirled around so freely. “And what a beach it is.”
Then she took a few steps back from the crashing waves and began jumping up and down wildly. Derick thought it was part of her playing in the sand until she realized, her arms are out of her sleeves. Then Derick saw her continue to bounce up and down rhythmically, until she fell forward with a flop. A random “erp.” Sound came out of her as she fell to the ground, dirt clinging to her beautiful face and hair. Derick ran to her, and quickly propped her up, gently brushing the sand off of her face and hair. He looked down at the tall woman whose head now lay in his lap, her arms stuck somewhere in her formal blue dress. A piece of hair gently rolled into her eyes. He just stared down at her, into her eyes. She, not taking her eyes off of his, moved her lips and attempted to blow the strands of hair out of her face. It was such a cute look that Derick couldn’t help but chuckle while gently pushing her hair behind her ear. His hand sat there, resting against the side of her face. It was only then that he saw that she had long ears that ended in a straight point. Derick, not really thinking about what he was doing gently caressed her ear, starting at the lobe and gently tracing a line up the ear, to the point, then letting his nail gently roll against the front of her ear. She let out a gasp before Derick realized what he might be doing could be considered rude or a violation of her.
“I’m so sorry.” Derick stammered, taking his hand away. “It just felt so right, and I…”
Her loving lilt of a laugh filled his heart with joy.
“I bet you say this to all the princesses you steal away from their armed escorts, whisk away to secluded beaches, then wait till they make a fool out of themselves while trying to play in the sand.” She said, at first Derick wanted to protest, but then realized he couldn’t. Seeing as she was the first princess he had found and he had in fact whisked her away in such a method, he couldn’t deny her claims.
“You win on a technicality.” Derick exclaimed, then wanted to touch her ear once more but figured he would need to ask permission before doing so. “May I?” Derick asked, while gesturing with his head towards her ear.
“Oh please do.”
With that Derick gently massaged her ear, her neck. Then finally helped her get the top portion of her dress off so her arms were now free to move around. He didn’t dare help her with her bodes or slip as he figured that with her arms free she would now be able to move around as much as she wanted. Once her arms were free, she wriggled her way out of the dress and let it fall gently to the ground.
“I think you saved me.” Penelope said, sitting down next to Derick and who sat staring into the setting sun and the ocean.
“The guards would have caught him eventually.” Derick responded, not wanting to move away as the princess began let her body collapse into his much smaller frame.
“No, I was supposed to begin my pilgrimage today. I was going with the guards to buy some last minute items, before I was to begin a pilgrimage.”
“Pilgrimage?”
“Yeah, it is a religious practice where a priestess.” Derick wanted to cut her off, but found her voice so soothing that he instead let her continue on with her comments. “Is given either a general make the world better, or sometimes there is a specific task given. Today I was chosen specifically by my deity to enter into the city square immediately and wait for a sign.” She paused to look down at Derick. Derick feeling her body shift, instinctively looked up, that is when I was robbed, yet the voice of my deity spoke to me, saying wait. Rather than stopping the thief as I had been taught I waited. The thief quickly stabbed me in the stomach, then turned to stab Sir Roderick in the back before stabbing Sir Munson in the side. It was over so quickly that I barely had time to heal myself.” She said, gripping the side of her slip that showed signs that it had been punctured by a dagger. Then she continued, “the voice said, call to him. So I called for help, and that is when I saw it a miracle, the sign that I had been sent to the market for.” She said, now staring off into space. Oh great, a religious one, Derick thought to himself as he heard how she let herself get stabbed and stolen from for her deity.
“Wow, I am so glad you are okay. It seems like you went through a lot of pain for what could have easily been nothing.” Then something caused Derick to think back about the whole conversation.
“Question, is Rokella_ScarletBunny a part of your order of priestesses?” Derick asked, remembering the priestess from this morning that looked at him strangely, and that weird feeling that he was being watched.
“Why yes she is, she is one who calls herself a traveler. She has shown great promise in the Temple; in a few hundred years she will no doubt be able to lead her own temple.”
“Shortly after she left you this morning, that is when you received the message about your quest?” Derick asked, trying to understand more about how the Deity’s information network worked.
“That is correct, about an hour after her morning prayers were over she left.”
“And you would do anything this deity of yours commanded?”
“I have to, it is her will I serve.”
“Even if she forced you into a relationship you did not want, you would do so, if she commanded?” Derick asked, a slight stone fitting into his throat.
“I would have to, as I would know that such an arrangement was destined to receive her divine blessing.”
“Answer one more question, but I need you to swear on your deity’s honor that you will answer it truthfully.” Derick said, rising t
o his feet so he could stare into her eyes. Penelope feeling the seriousness of the situation went to a kneeling position. One that Derick couldn’t help but feel was forced upon the followers of this unknown deity.
“I swear.” She said.
“Swear on her name, and if you answer one question truthfully and without outside influences I will follow you to the ends of the universe and back.”
“I swear by Light Mother Aquania that I will answer your next question truthfully and without outside influences.” Penelope said, her eyes staring up with a sudden fear in them that Derick had not expected from the carefree maiden. Perhaps she is afraid I might leave her here?
“Your actions and words toward me, were they solely your own, or were you directed by your deity to either seduce or entice me to enter into a courtship with you.” Derick asked, biting his lower lip, hoping that it was his own charm but knowing he couldn’t be that lucky. Almost as if reading his mind, her eyes began to tear up and she looked away from his.
“I…” She began, her voice stammering for a second, then she fell silent. Derick broke eye contact and went over to pick up her dress. He knocked the sand off of it and handed it over to her.
“I do feel for you.” She cried out, once the dress fell into her arms. She began sobbing at this point, while Derick did feel sorry for her, he could not want a person to be with him due to what added up to be religious slavery.
Derick looked at her, seeing the glint of puffing red veins in her eyes and wanted to say something but couldn’t. He knew she was just a program, that she could be programed to care for him, but that still felt hollow. Derick mentally scanned the city that they came from for a large temple like structure. From there he looked and saw seven unique priestess rooms, he quickly looked and saw that all but one were empty. Derick made a mental projection of the room appear before her.
“This one yours?” Derick asked, a grave tone to his voice.
The priestess nodded, more tears filling her vision. “I could make you happy.” She said, her hands reaching out and touching his hands.
“I know, but could you truly be happy with me?” Derick asked, looking for a response on her face. He saw her facial muscles tense up as she contemplated the question. Then Derick saw her tighten her cheek muscles, as she stiffened her jaw.
“I would make it it work. I could…” Penelope began, her voice almost pleading with him.
“I couldn’t live with myself knowing you were only there due to what your goddess demanded, versus what you truly wanted.” Derick said, gently taking his hands and wiping away her tears. Involuntarily her eyes shut tightly, which made the next part a little easier. One second she was there with him on the beach with her dress in her hands. The next it was just Derick staring up at the open night sky. Derick felt a strange sensation as if eyes were watching him again.
“You can come out Aquania, I know you are there.” Derick said, not turning his back even though that is where he knew the deity stood.
“You did an admirable thing. A stupid thing, but admirable nonetheless.”
Derick turned to see the deity and instantly wished he had his staff again, though he looked to see it lying in the sand where he dropped it, trying to run to Penelope’s aid when she flopped to the ground what felt like a lifetime ago.
Derick stood there, looking at her wanting to yell at her, wanting to ask if she were so callous with all her followers, if all this was but a meaningless tribe of code that she would send to her death to achieve some unknown goal. A goal that Derick couldn’t figure out for the life of him.
“What is it you seek?” Aquania asked.
“I could ask you the same question. What is your game, get her to have my child obediently then what? Kill her? Kill me? As you already got what you wanted a loyal teleporter that would likely be female I take it?” Derick guessed the last part but he started putting things together a coastal city that had an all female ruling line, followed by a Temple that only seemed to host priestesses.
The deity just nodded her head, before answering “yes to all of the above. I need a weapon that I can wield without fear of reprisals, though I have my contingency plans.”
“Your priestess Rokella?” Derick asked.
“Among many, but yes she is one.” The deity began.
Derick looking at other planets, for other starting points, where he could begin this whole journey over. One that didn’t involve the Taftinator, nor dragons, though now that he thought about it absorbing more dragon eggs did sound enticing.
“That is enough Aquania.” A male voice spoke in a deep booming expanse that seemed to soar on, carried by the expansive waves. Aquania turned to protest, but then was cut off as the old man in giant sea blue robes appeared next to Aquania, his posture denoting that he would cut off her advancement. “You would scare off the only portal master we have heard about for centuries, one who can create portals seemingly instantaneously, without the need for a weight distribution.”
It was then that Derick realized that there wasn’t a weight distribution aspect to his portal creation, though technically there should have been. Then Derick remembered the master portalist at the end of his life and how he was able to create portals that only required an equal mass exchange, so the swapping of gasses for my body would be enough? Derick thought to himself, then waited for HAIL to mentally heckle something back about him already being a bag of gasses, but nothing.
“Perhaps we could come to an arrangement of sorts.” The male deity asked, almost as if he was the voice of reason and compromise. Perhaps he was.
Character View 7
Name
OhmN (ΩN)
Race
Celstial Gnome
Class
Psychic-Leech
Profession:
Sage Celestial Portalist
Status
Resurrected
Age
27
Alignment
Chaotic Neutral
Current Level
10
Experience
59,675
Experience to Next Level
42,725
Respawns
1
Player Kills Required till free respawn
2 (18 of 20 complete)
Titles
Name
Bonus
History
Brother Slayer
+5% Bonus damage to fellow Travelers.
You have slain more than 20 Travelers.
Monster Slayer
25% bonus damage to all monsters
You killed a monster more than 20 levels higher than your own.
Psychic Dragon Slayer
+10% All class related Powers and Abilities
You have slain and absorbed the essence of a dragon associated with your affinity or class type.
Precocious
+10% experience for all future actions.
+10% skill growth.
You gained 10 levels in a single day.
Professional
All professions, even rare ones are now unlocked and available to learn.
+10% experience to profession skill progession.
You are the first player to Master a hidden profession.
Resurrected
All Merits associated with your previous undead status will remain even if respawned.
You took the Undead status, then purchased away all negative effects associated with the status.
Divine Attention
You can now add unallocated Stat points to your Luck Attribute
You have gained the attention of the Gods.
Attributes
Attribute
Score
Strength
22
Dexterity
25
Constitution
30
Charisma
23
Willpower
69
Intelligence
25
Wisdom
25
Perception
35
Luck
26
Vitals
Health
400 / 400
(Constitution X 10)
Stamina
250 / 250
(Constitution X 5)
Mental Power
790 / 790
(Willpower X 10)
Mana
450 / 450
(Intelligence X10)
Skills
Name
Level
Skill Rank
Awareness
52
Journeyman
Stealth
68
Journeyman
Dual Casting
75
Journeyman
Channeling
75
Journeyman
Meditation
75
Journeyman
Casting Fight Form
50
Journeyman
Individual Attack Form
50
Journeyman
Eavesdrop
22
Novice
Concentration