by C. M. Carney
“Just a day,” I said with bravado.
“Okay, then.” He said with a bemused grin and motioned to my seat. “Sit and I’ll allow you to Analyze me.”
I eyeballed the guy a few moments before taking a seat. That was a new one. I had no idea that you could allow somebody full access with Analyze. Either the guy was crazy, stupid, or he knew he had nothing to fear from me.
My heart beat in my chest for several seconds as I contemplated his words. It felt odd being on the defensive again. I’d spent so long as the aggressor with the upper hand, except against the Agent of course, that this new reality was unnerving. Maybe I should go back to mass murder.
“Okay, I get you have no reason to trust me. Here’s an olive branch,” The rogue said. He closed his eyes and looked inward. Professional pride that I hadn’t ever been able to kill him mixed with my unease, and I considered smashing in his head with my hammer. But a little voice chirped up from deep inside me. Dude stop being a psycho. I grumbled but did as the voice asked. A moment later the rogue opened his eyes and smiled.
“Try now. I’m an open book.”
I used Analyze.
Vonn Sennig: Level 37 - H: 465/S: 435/M: 434/SP: 767
Race: Half Elf (Eldarian/Sea Elf) Specialty: Templar of the Source
Vonn Sennig is a Templar of the Source, a religious knight by way of a rogue, whose mission is to recruit the NPC Lex to serve a higher power and a higher purpose.
“Um, what?” I said, looking up at the shadow shrouded man in surprise. I had innumerable questions and not much time to get answers. By my count, the Agent would walk through the door at any moment.
“I’m Vonn Sennig,” the rogue said, extending a hand towards me. “And I’m here to help.”
“Are you in a time loop too?” I asked and immediately felt dumb. I’d just given super-secret info to a man that for all I know was playing me. Sure he let me Analyze him, but how did I know he hadn’t maxed out the Defense branch of the Analyze Perk Tree. That trick he’d just pulled sounded exactly like something one could do with False Report.
“Is that what it is?” Vonn asked. “I knew something was off. I’ve been getting impressions of things, echoes, but I had no idea it was a time loop.”
“Can you help me get out of it?”
“Don’t think so. That’s not my purpose. But who knows, maybe my purpose will help you with yours.”
“Are you always so cryptic?”
“Lately, yes I have been.”
For a moment I just stared at him. Seraphine stopped by and dropped a mug of mead in front of me and a snifter of elvish brandy. I looked down at my mug and up at Seraphine. “Can you bring me what he’s having?” She smiled and walked back to the bar.
“You have questions,” Vonn said.
“Ya think? How do you know things about me? What the hell is the Source? What is a Templar? What is a Specialty? How do you know who I am? Why am I your mission? And what the heck is a higher purpose?”
“That’s a lot of questions. Do we have the time for me to answer them all?”
I eyeballed him again and sent a quick glance to the door. This dude’s knowledge was creeping me out. I needed a second opinion. I cast Commune, and the world stopped as the mists rolled in. My quadrata pal Rubik floated up and stared.
“Hey buddy, can I trust Vonn?”
YES, came the immediate reply, and the cube floated away. Time began again. Vonn was looking around, a slight frown of confusion on his face.
“Well that was weird,” the half elf muttered, shaking his head as if he were clearing cobwebs.
“What was weird?” I asked, panic surging once again.
“It was like a blip. One second you were here and then you weren’t and then, blip, you were back again.”
“Okay, now I’m getting annoyed. Time to answer my questions.”
“Yes, of course. Where to start? Well, I am a Templar of the Source, a sort of religious warrior. Though my skill set is less knight in shining armor than it is shifty rogue, but my dedication and faith are as strong as any paladin’s. Long ago I was called to the service of the Source and the Source has sent me here to help you.”
“The Source? I’ve heard that term somewhere before. What is it?”
“It is everything.” Vonn said and quickly held a hand up at my irritation. “But, I understand that is not very helpful. The Source is the truth of the Realms, the motive power behind all of reality. It has always been and always will be and is the source of all. It tries to guide all mortals towards a better existence.”
“You’re talking about God,” I said. Great, he’s a religious wacko. Just what I need.
“Yes, but not a god with a small g like the petty tyrants and power brokers currently worshipped on Korynn. The so-called Pantheon.”
“Are you some kinda Jim Jones wanna be?”
“I have no idea who that is, but to answer the question behind the question, no I am no cult leader who demands devotion. I am here to free your mind and draw it to the higher purpose of the Source.”
“What purpose?”
“To help all sentient beings across all the Realms find their true purpose.”
“That sounds great, if vague and redundant. How does the Source plan to do that?”
Vonn shrugged. “I only know my small part. The Source is far too vast for any mortal mind to fathom.”
I held a hand to my head. This circular talk was hurting my brain. “Okay,” I said through closed eyes. “Did the Source do this to me? And if so why?”
“I cannot say. I am not privy to the Source’s plan. But, I can help you.”
“How?”
Vonn’s help came in the form of training, lots and lots of training. We started with Dodge and Light Armor. Dodge training involved Vonn stabbing me while I tried to avoid his attack. If I did, my Dodge improved. If I didn’t, my Light Armor got a few ticks better. It was a very painful, yet effective method. After many stabby deaths I got pretty good at it.
You have reached Level 16 in Dodge.
You have reached Level 17 in Light Armor.
We only had 15 minutes each training session, and I my Light Armor and Dodge skills continued to improve. That meant I was back to jumping off the bridge frequently. But that was okay since I kept my promise to the Agent about no longer playing nice. I used Order Bolt to kill her thralls over and over and hit her a bunch of times too, but she still resisted.
☠☠☠☠☠
You have earned 68,535 XP for slaying the Agent’s Thrall (x45).
You have reached Level 21 in Order Magic.
“Man is that it?” It was getting harder and harder to level these skills. Don’t get me wrong it made sense. I understood the Game Mechanics were designed for balance but it didn’t mean I wasn’t gonna whine about it. That’s when a thought occurred to me.
“Yo Vonn, did the Source create the Game Mechanics?”
“The Source is the Game Mechanics,” he replied flatly, and looked at me like an asshole college professor.
We played some more, and I died some more. Vonn gave me tips on how to up my Stealth skill a ton by playing hide and seek with the other inn-mates. I got pretty good at it too and used it to get some sweet Critical Hits on Gaarm. Those made me smile like a nerdy girl asked to the prom by the school hunk. I leveled Blunt Weapons a few times since that was my Stealth attack of choice. I even upped Light Armor by a level when my Stealth attempts failed.
You have earned 79,360 XP for slaying Gaarm (x40)
You have reached Level 18 in Blunt Weapons.
You have reached Level 16 in Stealth.
You have reached Level 18 in Light Armor.
I saw that Vonn was a master at Pickpocket as well and made him teach me. Once again Gaarm was my focus, but Seraphine had some snazzy stuff too, so I robbed her plenty.
Not that I got to keep it when I came back. Remember that loot theory? Yeah it proved to be true, cuz I didn’t get to keep anything in my next
life. My Pickpocket training didn’t work out so well at first and I got caught a lot which forced me to go all murdery again and again.
You have learned the skill PICKPOCKET
Level: 1 - Tier: Base - Skill Type: Active
You have shown that you have deft fingers and a love for other people’s belongings. This ability will allow you to pilfer belongings from innocent bystanders without being caught. Base Pickpocket success percentage is determined by starting Dexterity +1% per Pickpocket Level. High Analyze and Perception skills will negate this ability.
You have earned 19,840 XP for slaying Gaarm (x10)
You have earned 2,310 XP for slaying the Dealer (x5)
You have earned 6,325 XP for slaying Mustachio (x5)
You have earned 5,755 XP for slaying Aegyptian Goon (x5)
You have earned 5,725 XP for slaying Gaarm’s Goon(s) (x10)
You have earned 7,338 XP for slaying Arno the Fire Mage (x5).
You have earned 4,615 XP for slaying a Priest of Ferrancia (x5)
You have earned 21,530 XP for slaying Seraphine. (X10)
You have earned 24,550 XP for slaying Master Grimslee (x10)
All the grinding earned me another level, and bumps in my skills.
You have reached Level 15.
You have 5 unused Attribute Points.
You have 8 unused Perk Point. (1 New and 7 Previously Earned)
You have reached Level 5 in Life Magic.
You have reached Level 6 in Fire Magic.
You have reached Level 19 in Blunt Weapons.
You have reached Level 18 in Stealth.
You have reached Level 17 in Dodge.
You have reached Level 19 in Light Armor.
You have reached Level 25 in Analyze.
You have reached Level 6 in Pickpocket
I only had 5 Attribute Points, but they went into Constitution with all the hesitation of a nerd getting a pic with a cosplay chick at Comic-Con.
I was going to need more Stamina very soon.
Lex - Level 15
Ordonian
Deity: Cerrunos
Experience: 767,000
Next Level: 123,000
Stats
Health: 180
Stamina: 195
Mana: 221
Spirit: 177
Attributes
Strength: 23
Constitution: 34
Dexterity: 17
Intelligence: 55
Wisdom: 16
Gifts:
Player Tracking (Gryph)
Ordonian Bloodlust
Attribute Points: 0
Perk Points: 8
I told Vonn I wanted to spend some Perk Points. They were adding up and burning a hole in my britches like a paperboy’s summer earnings. But, like a conservative dad, Vonn convinced me to wait and see where my skill set took me.
I even got to know Vonn a bit too. Apart from the frequent stabbings, he was a pretty stand-up guy. Truth be told, he was my only friend in the Realms. Gryph had abandoned me. My god was dead. I think I just needed a sympathetic ear. He even told me a bit of his story. Perhaps that was why I gave his crazy religion a chance.
“I was in a bad way,” Vonn said. “There were bounties on my head and obligations to some very bad people that I knew I could not keep. I was a dead man walking in the strictest sense of the phrase. The worst thing was, I knew it to be true. I was desperate and alone, and one day as I left the pub where I liked to drown my sorrows, I was murdered.”
“Wait, wait, wait, what?” I said, leaning forward and sloshing some of the fine Eldarian fire wine onto the table. “Hold on, are you a Player?”
“No.”
“But you were murdered, and we’re talking?”
“The Source,” Vonn said simply, hands held wide. “I cannot explain it any other way.”
How potent is this shit? I thought and eyeballed the glass of brandy I held at a very precarious angle as I sought evidence of foul play. Seraphine was an assassin after all, maybe she dosed me with something less acidic and more hallucinogenic.
“We’ll continue this next time,” he said.
That’s when the Agent tapped me on the shoulder. With a sigh, I went for a walk, killed a thrall with Order Bolt, jumped off the bridge and died.
☠☠☠☠☠
Vonn and I had a few more speed dates and then, abruptly, he told me our time was up. I was devastated, like when football season ends or that cute and quirky girl on The Bachelor doesn’t get a rose. He stood and walked towards the door. As he got close, he turned back to me.
“Do you remember the first time we met?” he asked.
“Um, yeah, it was right here,” I said pointing at the table that would always be our table.
“Wrong,” he said with a grin. “How do you think you came by that extremely rare spell stone?”
My mind flashed back to the beginning of the day. I was lying in the dust after Aluran’s energy Tourette’s had jacked me up, with a half dozen villagers looking down upon me. Amidst that sea of missing teeth and crossed eyes, was Vonn. In my memory he smiled and snapped an ‘atta boy’ at me, but I’m pretty sure that was a fiction created by my need.
“You gave me the Commune stone,” I said in awe as the memory broke.
“I do as the Source bids,” he said, and turned towards the door. He pushed it open and stopped. He glanced back at me. “It is the gift that keeps on giving.”
“Will I see you again?” I asked, and immediately felt desperate, alone and stupid. I’d see the dude in a few minutes, when this fuck-all loop began again.
“If the Source wills,” he said and turned away. He held the door open for someone who turned out to be the Agent.
What a gentleman? I thought. What a prick?
I felt alone and confused. I’d become so used to the complete freedom of my actions having no consequences that I think I may have lost my humanity. But my actions had consequences, perhaps not for the endlessly reborn people that shared my world, but for me, for my mind, perhaps even for my soul. Assuming a one-time AI even had a soul.
These thoughts filled my mind as the Agent arrived. I was so lost in my own world of regret that I let the Agent take me to the bridge without complaint. A few times I mumbled “Uh huh,” or “Yeah,” to the questions the Agent asked me. My mind was absent, and when I saw the bridge, I ran and dove off.
Death was a relief.
☠☠☠☠☠
I was back at the table across from Gaarm. I looked across the room to Vonn’s spot. He wasn’t there. A knot twisted at the center of my stomach, a combination of fear and desperate sadness. My only friend had gone. How? Why?
“Sir, the gentleman has called,” the dealer said in his nasally voice.
“I fold,” I said in a small voice and just sat there staring at Vonn’s empty seat. I have no idea how long I sat there when Gaarm kicked my chair under the table.
“Hey dwarf, what’s the matter with you?”
I jumped and stared at the Eldarian. “I’m Ordonian,” I muttered. Like a flash inspiration came in the form of Vonn’s voice.
I knew what needed to be done. Everything I’d been through since I’d first landed flat on my ass in that dusty street had been leading to this. It had all been part of some grand plan, a crazy conspiracy. Vonn’s words trilled through my mind.
“It is the gift that keeps on giving.”