by C. M. Carney
You have earned 1,223 XP for slaying Arno
You have earned 26,235 XP from Arno's Adventuring Party.
The flames were consuming every surface in the room and I knew there was no way I was getting out. I knew dying by fire would be pure agony, so I did the only thing I could think of. I took huge breaths. Better to die by smoke inhalation than by fire. I collapsed to the ground as the smoke stole my breath and noted, with no small amount of annoyance, that Arno had done what I could not. The shifty rogue with the cigarillo was a charred corpse, still sitting in his chair.
I died.
☠☠☠☠☠
I spent the next several lives learning about the other inn-mates in my prison of time. Gaarm had no interest in helping me with anything, and his bullying kept all his goons in line. The dealer was useless, as his one power seemed to be pretentiousness.
For the price of a mug of mead, and a willingness to listen to him blather on and on about his belief that everyone in town was a chthonic demon worshipper, I convinced Percinius, the Priest of Ferrancia to teach me Life Magic. That dude had a serious dislike of demons.
You have learned the spell Minor Healing.
Sphere: Life Magic - Tier: Base.
You can now heal minor wounds on yourself and others. Heals 20 points of Damage (+ 2 per level of Life Magic)
Mana Cost: 20. Casting Time: 2 seconds. Duration: N/A. Cooldown: 30 seconds
You have learned the skill LIFE MAGIC.
Level: 1 - Tier: Base - Skill Type: Active
You are now able to wield the power of Life Magic. Life Magic allows the user to tap into the animating forces of life and sentience itself. Life Magic primarily makes use of defensive and healing spells, but also has some potent offensive spells. Note: Users of Life Magic are beloved for their abilities to heal, to enable crops to grow quicker and to make life better.
Next, I turned my attentions to Seraphine. I’d known that something wasn’t quite on the level with her for a while. Her XP payout should have been somewhere in the range of Jeeves the dealer’s 462, but it was over four times higher. I used Analyze and Know Desires on her.
Analyze has failed.
Know Desires has failed.
Seraphine’s eyes locked on mine and the deep grey that I’d previously thought was beautiful became sinister. She advanced on me, slipping a wickedly sharp dagger from her apron.
“Well damn,” I said and powered up my war hammer. She got in a surprising number of strikes before I took her down. When she was finally dead, I knelt at her corpse.
You have earned 2,153 XP for slaying Seraphine.
Debuff Added. You are Severely Bleeding.
5 Dmg/Sec until your wound is staunched.
Debuff Added. You have been Poisoned.
5 Dmg/Sec for 10 seconds.
Knowing I didn’t have much time, I searched her. I found a small vial of black liquid that gave me the creeps and a rolled-up scroll of parchment. I tried to open the parchment, but no matter how much I tugged, tore and pulled the ribbon would not come free.
You have found a Secure Scroll.
Designed to protect secrets, Secure Scrolls will only reveal their secrets with the utterance of the correct password or phrase.
“Crap,” I grumbled through gritted teeth. “Stupid scroll.” A crossbow bolt hit me in the back and my Health bar blinked alarmingly. I shook the parchment in annoyance and then had a thought. I cast Commune.
The world paused and as the mists rolled in my pain subsided. That’s an interesting side effect. A moment later Rubik floated up. Now, I had no clue if this idea would work, but ever since reading the Commune description, I’d been wondering exactly what a Boon was, but I suspected one could help me now. I knew one thing, my question needed to be precise to get a Boon from the ever-vague floating box.
“Will you tell me the password or phrase to open this scroll?” I asked and held the rolled parchment up in front of Rubik’s never blinking eye. It stared at me for several heartbeats and I felt like a child digging for the prize at the bottom of a cereal box, desperate for it to be something great, but fearing it would be a cheap hunk of crap.
YES, it thought at me and I felt rubbery fingers grab my head. It was a bit disconcerting being mere inches from an unblinking eye the size of a dinner plate. But then a tingle ran through my body, similar to the restructuring sensation I’d felt when I’d learned Commune. Then, a single word popped into my brain.
Daffodil.
Rubik removed its hands, but instead of floating away it hovered there for a moment, its unblinking eye looking me up and down. I felt like a hot chick being ogled by construction workers.
“What’s up pal?” I asked, as a sense of worry flowed through me. Its pupil dilated and a rubbery hand whipped out, grabbing my belt and pulling me close. “Hey!” I yelled in alarm, and scenes of creepy inter-planar molestation rushed through my head. “I’m not that kinda guy,” I said, and then Rubik dug into my satchel and removed my Writs of Cerrunos. “Hey, that’s mine.” It just stared at me. “Right, Boons require a payment. Go ahead, it’s not like I’m using it, anyway. Stupid dead god.” Then I remembered it would end up back in my satchel when my next life started anyway, so no harm no foul.
The cubic creature held the book in both hands and then a slit appeared beneath the large eye. The slit parted to reveal a mouth full of sharp, symmetrical teeth. I backed up a bit and then with no ceremony the quadrata crammed the book into its mouth, its teeth tearing at it like a paper shredder. Rubik finished his papery meal, turned and floated away.
“Well okay then,” I said, puzzled. “At least I got a Boon,” I said and did a little jump in triumph. Then doubt settled into my heart. “Wait, daffodil? Are you sure?” I called after Rubik, knowing I would get no answer. The mists faded, time moved forwards again and pain tore into my body, and I was back dying over Seraphine’s body. I heard yelling and the sound of many feet rushing my way and knew I only had seconds left.
“Daffodil,” I said. The ribbon around the scroll glowed and untied itself. The scroll unfurled and suddenly I knew what it contained.
Contract
Subject: This scroll is a bound contract between the Assassin known as Seraphine and the Vex.
Target: Master Grimslee, Owner and Operator of the Shining Unicorn Inn and the local leader of the Durnarian Syndicate.
Payment: 1,000 gold.
“Oh, Master Grimslee, you’re like the Godfather.” I looked up at the grim-faced innkeeper as he took aim with his crossbow. “You picked the wrong side pal,” I said and laughed. The twang of the crossbow announced the end of that life.
☠☠☠☠☠
My next life had a single mission, discover what the creepy liquid Seraphine carried was all about. This time I didn’t even bother killing her, I just groped my way into her apron and stole it. I know, it was kinda pervo stalker behavior, and I felt bad about that. Is it odd that my groping made me feel worse than all the murder?
Seraphine’s eyes widened in alarm as I pulled the small stopper from the vial and downed the black liquid like a bro chugging Jaeger. For a moment nothing happened. Seraphine just stared at me with wide eyes.
I grinned at her and a single word popped into my brain. “Daffodil,” I said. Her eyes widened in panic and then my gut churned in agony.
Now, I’d died a whole bunch of times and some of them were incredibly painful, but that little vial of poison was so horrid I still shiver thinking about it.
The liquid melted my flesh. 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.
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.
You bitch, I thought. I would have said it, but my throat and mouth had burned away and I could no longer speak. Then, thankfully, I died.
☠☠☠☠☠
I may have freaked out a bit when I came back from that death. I could still feel the phantom pain of my flesh melting, so I walked up to Seraphine and unloaded my full Mana pool into Order Bolt. My assault looked like a burst of pure white fireworks unloading into her face. The energy surged into her body.
At level 19 in Order Magic, I could fire three bolts per casting, each doing eight points of damage. Due to my level I had only a one second cooldown, so she had little ability to recover between my castings. With 199 Mana I could fire the spell nine times before running out. That was a whopping 216 points of damage.
My Mana dried up, and with it came a massive headache, like a migraine delivered by a spike of ice to my temple. I bent over, gritting my teeth in pain, and was stunned to see Seraphine stumble to her feet. Dammit, this girl was tough. I powered up my hammer with Spirit energy and took a home run swing. She collapsed in a heap.
You have earned 2,153 XP for slaying Seraphine.
A stunned silence filled the inn as I looked around, mad eyes begging anyone to say something. Gaarm laughed, answering a question that had bugged me for some time. Despite their common connection to the Vex, it seemed he and Seraphine were not working together. I gave the brute a thumbs up.
I turned back to Seraphine’s corpse and heard the scrape of a dozen chairs as most of the patrons in the Shining Unicorn Inn quickly exited. How long did I have before the constables showed up?
I reached down and pulled the Secure Scroll from Seraphine’s apron and walked to the bar. Master Grimslee had his crossbow aimed at me but did not fire. Perhaps he didn’t believe he could take me out after I went all nut job on his waitress. I looked from the scroll to Grimslee.
You have been offered the Choice Quest: Meddle in the Gang War
Seraphine is an assassin hired by the Vex to kill Master Grimslee, innkeeper and local mob boss for the Durnarian Syndicate. You have proof of this in the form of a Secure Scroll contract. Now you have a choice to make.
A) You can warn Master Grimslee and earn the ire of both Seraphine and the Vex.
Difficulty: Moderate. Reward: Unknown. XP: Unknown.
B) You can keep quiet and let Seraphine do her work.
Difficulty: Moderate. Reward: Unknown. XP: Unknown.
C) You can turn one, or both, in to the proper authorities, assuming those proper authorities are not on the take. Who to trust, who to trust?
Difficulty: Moderate. Reward: Unknown. XP: Unknown.
Oooh, it’s like a Choose your Own Adventure book, but I can’t cheat and look ahead. I considered for a few moments and then tossed the scroll onto the bar top.
“She was here to kill you. Password is Daffodil,” I said. His eyes went from me to the scroll and back to me as I walked past him and into the back room. I grabbed a fresh bottle of elvish brandy and returned to the common room. I poured two snifters full of the liquor and pushed one towards Grimslee. "You're gonna need it." I lifted my own snifter and admired the pale-yellow liquid before inhaling and taking a sip. Grimslee stood beside me reading the scroll. His face went pale, and he looked at me. “How did you know?”
“Her and I go way back,” I said and downed my drink. “You should thank me. That poison is a bitch.”
“Thank you. I owe you a favor,” Grimslee said.
“I’ll hold you to that,” I said, and poured another brandy. I held my snifter up in a toast. After a moment Grimslee did the same. The clink of glasses brought a prompt into my vision.
You have been awarded 10,000 XP for completing the Choice Quest Meddle in the Gang War.
You have saved Master Grimslee from the deadly assassin Seraphine.
You have earned a Favor from Master Grimslee.
You have earned the Ire of the Vex. The Vex have eyes everywhere and knowledge of your actions will soon get back to them. You will soon have a contract on your head.
Well, I guess no bad deed goes unpunished. Soon I'd have a bounty on my head. I turned towards Gaarm and his buddies, wondering which one was the ‘eyes’ mentioned in the prompt. I could have killed them all, but I kinda liked the idea of having my own Wanted poster. Hopefully they'd get my likeness right. Then I remembered this whole timeline would never exist for them, and I got a little pouty. It felt good being notorious.
I decided I needed a breather, so I sat next to Arno. The twitchy mage grinned at me and opened his mouth. “Not, now bud,” I said, cutting the pyromaniac off before he could speak. I’d leveled again, and I wanted to spend my last few minutes of this life shopping.
You have reached Level 20 in Order Magic.
You have reached Level 16 in Archery.
You have reached Level 17 in Blunt Weapons.
You have reached Level 8 in Stealth.
You have reached Level 8 in Dodge.
You have reached Level 14 in Light Armor.
You have reached Level 23 in Analyze.
You have reached Apprentice Tier in Order Magic. With that Tier boost, the skill has gained a new ability. You can now learn twice as many Order Magic spells as you could learn at Base Tier.
Total Order Spells is equal to (2 + (your level in (Order Magic/5)) x 2.
Current Order Spell Capacity = 12.
“Sweet,” I said.
The Agent walked into the inn and came to say hi.
“Damn, you’re early,” I said, without even looking up. “I still have points to spend.” She tensed, and I felt the energy of imminent action pulse through her. I looked up and stared directly into her eyes. “Maybe it's for the best. I’ll have some extra time to plan.” Her eyes turned to slits as she tried to understand my cocky attitude.
I stood and leaned towards her, very much invading her personal space. “This is the last time I play nice,” I said, and then I turned and walked towards the door.
After a few paces I turned back. “You coming?”
☠☠☠☠☠
8
I was back in the inn with an empty mug and a happy grin. I tossed my card down, told the dealer I folded and leaned back in my chair. Seraphine brought me another mug of mead and even though, or perhaps because, I’d just gone batshit crazy on the assassin I felt generous and pushed my entire pile of coins at her. Then I stood.
I was getting close to beating the Agent, I could feel it in my bones. There was only one more person I hadn’t spoken too yet, and I had an odd feeling he would be very helpful. I looked at the rogue in the corner. This dude was an enigma. I’d never once killed him and Analyze had failed every time. Maybe it was time to chat up the dude.
I made my way through the crowd, counting down the minutes before the Agent appeared. I stopped in front of the rogue and tried Analyze just for the hell of it.
Analyze has failed.
“Eh, worth a try,” I muttered. “May I?” I asked indicating the empty chair. The rogue nodded, and I sat. “I don’t have time to waste, so I’ll get right to it. Who are you and what makes you so special?”
The rogue grinned, stubbed out his cigarillo and leaned forward. “Took you long enough to come and say hi.”
“What?” I said in genuine shock. Did this dude know I was in a time loop? Was he somehow responsible? I stood and old habits caused me to power up my hammer with Spirit energy before I knew what I had done.
“Relax. I’m a friend and I have a proposal for you.”
Reluctantly I powered down the hammer. I didn't trust the dude, but my murderous ways had given me a bit of an itchy trigger finger, and sometimes I hit before I thought. I was trying to change that. You know, trying to grow as a person.
I used my Know Desires perk.
Know Desires had failed.
“Yeah, that won’t work either. Not unless I allow it. Though I have to say, nice job with your Analyze skill. Do you know how hard it is to level that skill?
I took decades to get where you are. How long have you been working on it?”