Casadraggrio called up a holographic in-game menu, something that was impossible for a normal NPC to do, and selected the character selection screen. Making it full size so that it covered one wall of the library, the Sentient brought up the drop down menu of the character professions a player could choose.
Argo spotted one he had never seen before: Spy.
Casadraggrio clicked on it and the screen changed to an image of a shifty-looking avatar in a dark cloak and hood.
He stepped back and nodded to Henk. “There you are.”
“Thanks,” said Henk. He stepped closer to the avatar and motioned Argo to do the same. “Argo, you know that the game lets you play as two or more different professions, don’t you?”
“Yes,” said Argo, “but don’t you have to be at like level 10 or something before you get your first pick at a second class?”
“That’s right,” Henk said, “but Casadraggrio has been able to bypass that restriction. How would you fancy becoming a Spy?”
Argo blinked in surprise. “A Spy? I didn’t even know there was such a class in the game…”
“It’s not a regular option,” Henk said. “It’s an exclusive profession only available as a reward if you complete a special quest. Before I formed the Manticore Crew, I took on a mission like that to infiltrate the castle of a renegade duke who was at war with the Crown Prince of Tallon down in the south. I was a Paladin, but the quest required me to sneak into the castle and steal the battle plans belonging to the duke. I had to sneak in, avoid raising alarms, and abide by the quest conditions not to kill anyone in the process. This kind of mission is more suited to a thief or an assassin, I know, but I wanted to try it.
“I possessed no stealth skills whatsoever, so I could only rely on trickery and subterfuge. I observed the patrols around the castle, took note of the people who went in and out. I spent a lot of time observing that run-down place, and I ultimately decided that I needed an in to learn more. I dressed myself up as a teamster, signed up with one of the supply caravans going into the castle. One smoky fire later, and I created enough confusion to outright walk into the commander’s quarters to steal the plans for myself.”
Henk chuckled at the memory. “It took me two whole weeks to infiltrate the castle, but I technically completed it on a first run and I earned a hefty amount of sovereigns from the grateful Crown Prince. As an extra bonus that I wasn’t expecting, I was also awarded a token that would unlock the Spy class alongside my regular Paladin.”
Argo nodded as he took this in. “So you’re a Paladin and a Spy?”
Henk shook his head. “You know I’m only level 6 right now. In the beginning, I was planning to keep this class token, maybe avail of it once I reached level 10. Even managed to pick up a nice little enchanted item to complement my future as a Spy.
“But as time went by and I settled into the game, I found that stealth and intrigue were really not my cup of tea. I’d rather battle enemies head on instead of spin tall stories around them. I was thinking of Sentinel or Shield Bearer, maybe even Templar if I want to lean on prayers and chants.”
He smashed a fist inside his other hand and smiled. “So instead of letting this rare class token go to waste, why not give it to you? Casadraggrio here will integrate it onto your avatar without you having to grind all the way up to level 10. What do you say?”
“You are giving this to me? Why?”
“I thought this class would go perfectly with your Bard character. Both classes rely on dexterity and cunning, while you could help gather much-needed information before we do something stupid. You know, stupid like stand around on a balcony and try to snipe a monster that can collapse said balcony at will.”
Both men grimaced at the memory in the Crystalline Caverns. They assumed they would be so safe on their ledge, just pelt the Scaler from afar with arrows and Fireballs, only to fall on their butts with nothing more than a flip of a switch.
“More importantly though… Aaheli mentioned you’re having a spot of trouble with your acting gig right now?”
That little revelation caused Argo to freeze up. “What did she tell you?”
Henk held a hand up. “Don’t worry. She didn’t say anything specific, just that it would help if you had a little bit more experience getting into a role. That’s exactly what a Spy needs: seeing things from another point of view, learning to become someone else—so much so that people won’t even think to question the identity that you assume. Pretty much stage acting, to be honest. Marry your in-game abilities with your real-world aspirations, that sort of thing.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Argo said, completely taken away by the offer. He’d chosen to play as a Bard because he thought it was the only class he’d be able to make any real progress in—just standing in the rear and worrying about nothing but playing a few songs on his instrument of choice.
But the idea of also being a Spy… of being useful to the Manticore Crew by acting… the thought intrigued him.
“You can say thank you, I’d love to be a Spy,” Henk replied warmly. “This could completely change the game for you, and it’d be a big help to me and the rest of the Crew. We could definitely use a Spy in our future runs.”
Argo liked the sound of that. “How so?”
“The Spy is a little like a Scout: they gather information to help adventuring companies,” Henk said, “but where the Scout relies mostly on stealth, the Spy relies on deception and subterfuge. The Scout will sneak past your guards and sentries; the Spy will stroll right up to you, shake your hand, and whistle while he walks past you.”
Henk grinned naughtily at the suggestion. He also perked right up when he brought up his in-game menu and browsed through his inventory.
“And this… this little darling right here will do a world of good for a budding Spy such as yourself.”
Henk handed over a nondescript hand mirror to Argo, who drew up his own HUD to get a better look at it.
You are holding a plain hand mirror, which has definitely seen better days…
A dingy, scratched-up wooden handle attached to a cloudy pane of reflective glass.
“Um…”
“It doesn’t look like much,” Henk admitted, still wearing his playful grin. “But trust me that everything will be revealed if you take Casadraggio’s offer to roll early as a Spy.”
Argo was taken aback by this information. “What am I gonna do with it? Apply makeup?”
“Something like that,” Henk chuckled. Casadraggrio, in the meantime, let loose a guffaw, interrupting the Paladin and stepping into the discussion for the first time.
“This unassuming little hand mirror is more than a mere addition to a makeup kit. It is actually called a Deceiver’s Reflector, an epic artifact that grants the Morphing Ability to the Spy wielding it,” the Sentient NPC went on to explain. “Non-spies will only see it as you do right now: a shoddy little hand mirror that has seen better days. A Spy, however, will see it for what it really is: an artifact that some of you, players, would literally kill to obtain in your endless quest for power. Depending on your level, you can change your appearance, allowing you to infiltrate hostile environments to complete missions and gather information. You can even assume the forms of monsters or demi-monsters if you put enough experience into your Spy’s skill tree.”
“Despite this, your voice and mannerisms will remain the same,” Henk added, “So if you’re not careful, you could be found out really quickly. You’ll need Cunning stat points to create and maintain a high-level disguise, and you’ll need actual cunning to pull off the role without blowing your cover.”
Argo nodded. “I see how acting would come into the picture.”
“Exactly,” said Henk. “That’s one of the main reasons why I wanted you to have this class. I thought playing around as a Spy, morphing into different shapes and forms, might help you see your acting in a different light.
“This is why gaming, why Drake Realm was such a
help to me in the beginning. I learned how to step up and take responsibility. I learned how to command a party not by threatening them or bullying them into obedience, but by building trust in the fact that my decisions are always for the benefit of the group. I learned that the mistakes I made in-game wouldn’t be solved by whining on the forums, by blaming my teammates, but by examining the cause and looking for solutions.
“This is why I want you to explore your options here in Drake Realm. Playing a Spy could help you develop your acting range, better understand what it takes to become someone else to the point where nobody would think to doubt who you say you are.”
The thought excited Argo. Suddenly, his situation didn’t seem so bleak anymore. The idea of masquerading as someone else, as other creatures in the game, both thrilled and frightened him. “This is too good for me, Henk, I’ll only mess things up.”
Henk gave him a sympathetic smile, gripping Argo’s virtual hands and slipping the Spy class token in between his fingers. “Sure, there’s a risk of screwing things up, but we all mess up sometimes. The main thing is we pick ourselves up again and keep trying. That’s the gamer spirit right there, brother.”
Argo chuckled. He examined the token again, sliding his eyes to study the popup on his HUD.
Integrate Spy class token?
Yes
No
He hesitated for a bit, turning first to Henk then to Casadraggrio who stood silently as he watched the two players interact with one another. “So, how does this work?”
“I will add a Spy class on top of your existing Bard class,” Casadraggrio said. “But be aware that there will be a tradeoff. The only way I can get this to work is to reset your character back to level 1. It’s the only trick I know of to get around the Over Monitor’s security algorithms on premature multi-classing.” He paused for a second to let the information sink in.
“That’s not a bad deal, considering I’m just level 2 in the first place.”
“Ah… only 100 experience points lost. You are fortunate, then; higher-level players would have to sacrifice tens of thousands of experience points if they chose to reset.”
Henk grimaced at the thought. “Losing 5,000 experience points would be bad enough for a newbie level 6 like this character of mine… losing a level 20 character with over 100,000 experience? Yeah, no thanks.”
Casadraggrio nodded sagely at Henk’s comment before turning his attention back to Argo. “Like Henk said, the Morphing Ability granted by the Deceiver’s Reflector will be affected by your Cunning. Your disguises might be easy to see through by creatures with high Cunning or Willpower. Higher-level players with maxed stats will most likely see through them as well.
“As your Cunning increases though, it’ll become harder and harder for anyone—PC, NPC, or monster—to spot the subterfuge. You also won’t need to go through a skill check altogether if you avoid rousing suspicion in the first place. This is why you’ll also need to work on mimicking voices effectively, learning how to carry yourself as the person or creature you’re Morphing into. I suggest that if you want to impersonate anyone in particular, you watch them first and learn to copy their mannerisms and movements before attempting to impersonate them. This is how the Spy advances. You can also build up Dexterity, train up on stealth skills so you can sneak into some pretty difficult areas where disguises won’t cut it. Did you get all that?”
“Yes,” replied Argo as he considered his future as a Spy for the Manticore Crew. He inhaled deeply and blew it all out in a slow, measured huff of breath. To hell with it all, he thought. Nothing much to lose in the first place. He was given a new start and he was not going to waver now. “I think so.”
“Another thing: nobody else will know you’re a Spy unless you tell them. They will bring up your character sheet and see nothing more than a regular Bard. I strongly suggest you keep your new sub-class a secret to prevent others from outing you.”
“We’ll have to let the rest of the Manticore Crew know, of course,” said Henk, “But this is on a strictly need to know basis.”
“I got it,” replied Argo. “Don’t worry, I won’t blab.”
“I guessed as much,” said Henk. “That’s another reason I thought you’d make a good Spy. You’re quiet and you observe things the others miss. People also tend to overlook you when in the group, fail to notice your presence until someone points you out. That will be really big for your life as a Spy. You’ll want to blend into the background, avoid drawing attention to yourself, all while drinking in the information around you.”
Argo flushed with pleasure at the Paladin’s words. He considered his shyness, his weak presence, as a liability. His peers in the acting scene always reminded him loudly enough about it. Henk made him realize how his unassuming nature would be quite useful in the right situation. People let their guard down in front of him, and said things they might not have if others were present. Usually, any information he did hear he kept to himself, feeling that it would not be worth repeating to the rest of the Crew. Now though, everything he did learn could be valuable, maybe even vital to the future quests of the Manticore Crew.
And maybe, just maybe, his newfound life as a Spy in Drake Realm would help him carve a place out on the acting scene for himself.
“Okay… well then, I guess I’m ready to be reborn,” Argo stammered with a forced smile.
Henk nodded. “Cas, will you do the honors please?”
The Sentient made a gesture with his hand that created a rune symbol in the air etched in golden light. He tapped on it, and the symbol dropped to the ground and transformed into a glowing yellow pillar. “Do you still see the confirmation menu to consume the class token, Argo?”
“Y-yes.”
“Good. Click on yes, then just step into the light, Argo.”
Argo inhaled deeply and nodded before focusing on his HUD.
Integrate Spy class token?
Yes
No
Argo focused on “Yes,” feeling the token disintegrate into nothing in the middle of his clenched fist. Argo swallowed down his nerves, stared at the glowing column of light created by Casadraggrio, and stepped right in.
His skin tingled at the touch of the light. His gaudy yellow tunic and red leggings shimmered and transformed into an ordinary brown doublet and black leather breeches with matching leather boots. A drab woolen cloak dyed dull russet appeared over the outfit, the common material obscuring his face and body.
Nothing special, nothing eye-catching, everything painfully plain… exactly what a Spy needed.
As the light faded, a HUD popup alerted him of his new status:
You have selected “Spy” as your secondary sub-class.
You receive a Novice Spy Outfit. Non-hostile NPCs and monsters will be 20% less likely to remember you while wearing the full set (Doublet, Breeches, Boots, and Cloak)
Argo turned his attention to the hand mirror he held in his other palm, his eyes widening as the dingy little thing shifted into something so much more. Old, cracked wood gave way to polished obsidian that looked and felt like solidified smoke. The scratched glass surface shimmered once before turning into an endless pit of grey fog—one that seemed opaque, transparent, and reflective all at once.
Only then did he realize that he was holding a rare artifact, one that revealed itself only to Spies blessed enough to wield it:
Deceiver’s Reflector
Grants the Morph active ability, which allows the user to assume the outward appearance of a targeted PC, NPC, or monster. Use the Deceiver’s Reflector?
WARNING! Using the Deceiver’s Reflector to learn Morph consumes the mirror in the process.
Yes
No
Argo selected yes, and stilled as the mirror dissolved into tendrils of black smoke—tendrils that sank into his skin and bones, infusing his avatar with its powers.
&n
bsp; Excited with the changes, Argo accessed his character screen and scanned through the most important of his new stats levels:
Name
Argo
Race
Human
Class
Bard / Spy
Level
01/20
Health Points
15/15
Stamina Points
20/20
Mana Points
20/20
Experience
0/100
Strength
8
Endurance
9
Dexterity
Spy: Reborn Page 13