by M. Coulray
Release her? This was… the Goddess! Well, I sure wasn’t going to try to take control of the Goddess. Votess would never forgive me. I nodded to the unseen voice.
What would you ask for your reward?
I thought for a moment. Outside my body, nothing moved. Motes of dust hung suspended in midair, but I something told me I didn’t have all the time in the world. “Please cure my friend Votess. That red mist really messed her up. She’s devout and a big believer in you.”
This is what you ask? The voice sounded curious.
“Yes, please. And, um, do you get along with Minolt? My other friend is a priestess of his and she’s been with us the whole time in here. If she needs healing, could you help her too?”
The voice laughed inside my head. The sound was… beautiful. You will be a fine member of My people, Denel. You think of those around you before yourself.
That wasn’t entirely true. I’d lost count of the loss of levels in the fog of pain I’d endured. I didn’t care too much about that, though. As long as Votess was all right, I could regain my levels and my strength. I’d happily take one for the team here.
Inside my head, the tinkling laughter returned. I would not leave My rescuer unrewarded. The blood crystal began to flow into the air, vaporizing and disappearing before my eyes, but some of it approached me. A tendril of mist touched my cheek and sank into my skin, leaving a tingling sensation behind. Another lashed itself around Mika’s wrist before being absorbed. Some more touched Votess and disappeared into her scales. Neither of them moved. Time stood still as I conversed with the divine.
Below you will find the invaders. My magic holds them fast, but when you open the door it will end.
“What do I tell them?” I gestured to where Votess and Mika were frozen.
There was no answer. The moment the last of the red crystal disappeared, time restarted and I fell on my face.
25
“Mmm. Is your nap finished?”
Votess’ face was right up against mine. When the Goddess was done talking to me, I’d apparently decided to pass out. I was laid out on the altar. Votess was grinning her toothy facsimile of a smile down at me.
“Did you just make a joke??” I sat up and immediately regretted it. My head was pounding. “What’s Mika doing over there?” Mika was pacing the room, doing something with the piles of ash and dust that had formerly been skeletal undead
“Laying the dead to rest. It is what her God does, apparently.”
Well, that sounded fair, God of purification and all that. I swung my legs off the side of the altar. It was no longer cracked. All around us, something like a slow wave of light, ruby red and beautiful, was crawling over everything in the nave. Wherever it touched, the dust and damage disappeared. The floor returned to an alabaster white, and the walls repaired themselves. I watched in amazement as etchings and engravings appeared on walls that moments ago had been all but destroyed.
“The other halls?”
“Lost to us. I have already looked. You slept for three hours. It is past nightfall. If she was coming back, she would have done so.” Votess gestured at the shattered medallion that lay on the floor. It alone was still dark and broken after the green light had passed over it.
We both watched as the light reached the metal doors that gated the nave from the hall we’d walked and then faded from view. Votess was taking in the room and I could see that she was overwhelmed by the experience. I decided to take a look at my status. I squeezed my eyes shut in anticipation of seeing myself at level two or three, but instead I got a surprise.
[Level Up! You have reached level 10! ]
[Level Up! You have reached level 11! ]
You have reached the maximum amount of experience for an encounter at your level. Excess experience has been lost.
You have gained 4 skill points.
You have gained 1 attribute point. You must allocate your attribute point now.
No level loss? Was that what the Goddess had granted me when I touched her crystallized blood? I’d take it. The attribute point was a tough decision but I decided to add it to my Intelligence. I was going to need more mana if I was going to be keeping my buffs up on the team.
Speaking of buffs, I decided to burn three points on my Physical Barrier spell, to rank it up. It hurt to spend so many points on one spell, but mana efficiency was what had forced me to drop my shield to use Sense Vulnerability.
[Physical Barrier]
Skill: Barrier Magic
Rank: 3
Target: Self or Other
Maximum base physical DEF: 9 (1 DEF/8 Mana)
Duration: Channeled
Other effects: +2 effective DEF versus missile weapons
Increase Barrier Magic skill to increase maximum base DEF. Increase spell Rank to decrease mana cost per DEF.
With my higher Intelligence and the new, reduced cost of Physical Barrier, I could keep it on all three of us for 216 mana and still have enough left over to either Mana Barrier one of us or to use Sense Vulnerability, assuming it proc’d.
The last point went into Assess Target. Hopefully I’d remember to use it next time we fought. The skeletons being largely immune to Votess’ spear was a nasty surprise I’d rather not repeat. Once again I neglected Force Wall, but this time it was intentional. I was certain it would be a great utility spell, but we had more pressing concerns.
[Derived Attributes adjusted]
Vitality increased from 190 to 210 (Base 100 + 10 points/level + 0 points Endurance bonus)
Mana increased from 240 to 286 (Base 100 + 10 points/level + 10 points/level of highest Magic skill x 1.1 Intelligence bonus multiplier)
Unf. That felt damn good. I still had one prompt to check.
[Temple of the Fallen Goddess: Level 1/3 Cleared!]
Your choices have resulted in rewards for your companions and yourself. All drained levels restored. Combat experience granted.
Optional conditions not yet cleared.
Seemed like Votess was right, and the temple had three floors. I hopped off the altar.
“Oh, you’re awake!” Mika sounded excited.
“He has only just woken,” said Votess. I blinked. Was she talking to Mika?
Mika came over to our position at the altar. “Whatever you did, it destroyed that crystal. Something happened to us, too.”
“We can understand each other. I am unable to speak the language of Mika, but I hear her words clearly.”
“Yeah! It’s like, I hear her hissing and stuff, but in my head, it means something!” Mika was obviously thrilled to finally be able to talk to Votess. My scaly friend seemed unmoved, but I knew from experience that the tiny twitch of her tail was suppressed excitement.
“That’s great! I was getting sick of playing go-between. From what I can tell, we’re a third of the way through. Two more floors left.”
“Mmm. Rest now. Explore tomorrow. This is my suggestion.”
While we made camp at the altar, I told the story of the Goddess speaking to me. Votess was excited beyond belief, and she was absolutely thrilled that the Goddess had blessed her directly. Mika was interested as well, but I could see that her interest was more academic than mine. It made sense; for one thing, she worshipped a different deity, and for another, she was only here part time.
We set up our bedrolls and I pulled food out of my inventory. Amazingly, the food that Jin had cooked for Votess was still warm, as if I’d just put it in the metaspace of my inventory a moment ago. Votess flicked her tongue in pleasure at the prospect of a warm meal. I grumbled my way through my rations, as did Mika.
After, there was a moment of awkwardness. Mika announced that she was logging out for the night, and Votess began questioning her on where she went when she disappeared. For some reason, Mika didn’t want to explain the other world to her.
“It’s fine. Votess knows where I’m from. You’re not breaking any rules talking about it.”
“Yeah, but it feels kind of, I dunno. Wron
g.” Mika pursed her lips. “Like I’m talking about a better world or something. Not better exactly but more advanced.”
“Oh yeah? You run into a lot of healing priests on Earth?”
Mika stared at me, and I realized how bitter I’d sounded. I grinned to cover up for my mistake, and she smiled back.
“Mmm. You should stay in this world, like Denel does.” Votess licked the juices of her meal from her fingers.
Mika looked at me with an appraising eye. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. Don’t think I’m letting you off easy!” With a grin, she sat down, crossed her legs and rested her palms in her lap, then disappeared as she logged off.
“I’ll take first watch,” I said. Votess nodded and laid down on her rather spartan bedroll. In less than a minute, she was still and silent, and I knew she was asleep.
I spent my four hour watch thinking about what had happened. The Goddess had spoken to me, but she’d seemed distant. She’d mentioned releasing the rest of her essence, so I wondered if the blood we’d found was not the only part of her. Maybe we could resurrect her entirely? Her gifts to my friends were great; having them talk to each other was going to help a lot.
I woke Votess for her watch and then slept. If I dreamed, I didn’t remember them come morning.
“Wake. It is time for the morning meal.” Votess nudged me with her foot.
I rolled over and wiped the grunge out of my eyes. “I’m up. Mika back yet?”
“No. I want to talk about her while she is not here.”
I raised an eyebrow and thought about telling Votess that she as being rude, but her expression and stiffened tail told me she considered this a serious matter. “All right. What’s up?”
With a sigh, Votess started speaking. “I do not know if I can trust her. When I awoke and you still slept from your encounter with the Goddess, she was talking to someone who I could not see. She spoke in a whisper and I heard very little, but what I did hear caused me alarm. She spoke the word claim and temple and company all in the same sentence.”
Claiming the temple? I thought for a moment. Small adventuring groups were known as companies, and larger ones as clans. I’d never asked Mika if she was a member of a company. Was she planning to betray us?
I gritted my teeth. I’d been too trusting. Votess watched me as I thought. If Mika was going to betray us, I was going to have to stop her. But without her, we’d never have cleared the temple’s first floor. Who knows what we had waiting for us up ahead? We needed her, barring a miracle.
“What will you do, Denel?”
I looked at my friend. Her expression was familiar: the same one she worn before entering a battle. “I’m not sure. Did you feel like she was trying to hide something from you?”
Votess tilted her head in thought. “I do not think so. If she did, she could have pretended to pray, and I would have granted her privacy. However, at the time I overheard her, neither of us yet knew we could understand the other. So perhaps she was hiding from me. Her expression and her scent told me the conversation was unpleasant for her. I wonder if she is being coerced.”
I nodded slowly. “Maybe she’s being forced into this, or there’s something else at play.”
“Everyone has their own circumstances,” said Votess.
“I’ll talk to her when she logs in. We won’t move from this spot until we’re both satisfied. Sounds good?”
“Agreed.”
We ate in tense silence while we waited for Mika to log back in. When she did, she appeared exactly where she’d left, and she hopped up to her feet energetically. “Let’s go! I ate already!”
“Wait,” I said. I glanced at Votess, who had her spear in a casual position, but at any moment she could attack. I wished it didn’t have to be this way, but if it came down to it, I’d protect the people from Mika. I’d already shielded the both of us, and given Votess a mana shield as well. I hoped like hell Mika wouldn’t prove it to be necessary.
“What’s up?”
“Tell me about your company.”
Mika’s face froze. “Uh, they’re just some friends I play with sometimes. Nothing serious. Why?”
“Are you planning to claim this dungeon in their name?”
Mika’s eyes widened in panic and she half-drew her sword. Votess hissed and moved like lightning, her spear suddenly pointed at Mika’s throat. “Do not. We are friends, but I will not let you bring harm to the people by your words or actions.”
Mika looked at me, then Votess, then back at me. She let go her sword and her lip quivered. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes. “I didn’t want to hurt you or anything! I owe them a lot and when I got the quest to relocate the refugees I told my guild I’d be heading to unknown lands and then there was the dungeon and I didn’t—”
“Stop. Whoa. Just relax. We’re not gonna hurt you,” I sad with a glance at Votess.
“As long as you speak the truth, I will not attack you.”
It seemed that Mika’s adventuring company held a letter of debt in her name. She owed them thousands of lorin, all for her training and equipment as a healer. Previously she’d been paying it back slowly, but when her company master Griz heard from her about the dungeon, he told her she could clear all her debts if she simply claimed the dungeon in the name of her company.
“So how would that work?”
Mika wiped tears and snot from her face. “We all have items that can open a one-time portal for company members. I’m supposed to get to the last room or boss, then open a portal so the elite members can come in. I suppose they’d kill us, defeat the boss, and then get credit for the clear. Then the company can add it to the list of dungeons we’ve cleared and can travel to in the weekly cycle.”
A chill shot through me. Was that how it worked? I couldn’t let the temple become a fast travel point for some usurious adventurer’s company. We needed another way.
“Can you just pay out the debt?’
“I don’t know how I could. The interest is atrocious and there’s no laws that protect in-game loans. My original debt was a tiny fraction of what I owe now. Plus, it’s a sworn debt, so it has in game effects if I default.”
I stared at her. “I can’t let you do this, you know. My people up there would be in danger.”
“I know! They were all so nice to me, even though I couldn’t understand them! I don’t want any of them to get hurt. But now Griz has changed the terms of my debt, and I agreed to them, so if I don’t keep it, the consequences will be awful! If I don’t summon them to the final room, I don’t know what will happen to me.”
A sworn debt was serious business. The gods of the game themselves could invoke penalties. I couldn’t blame her for being concerned. “All right. We’ll deal with this later. First of all, you need to give me the item that summons your people. I’ll give it back to you, but not while we’re in the dungeon.” Mika produced a small gemstone that twinkled blue and handed it to me. “Second, we won’t leave you hanging. You’re a companion and we’re going to help you as much as we can.”
Beside me, Votess nodded. “You are a friend to the people and we will protect you. I consider you Named already. The Goddess herself chose to bless you, and if you side with us, you will never want for faithful companions.”
“There, you see? One of us, one of us.” I grinned at Mika and she sniffled. “Let’s worry about all this when the time comes. We got a temple to clear.”
Daniel Descouteaux, AKA Denel
Title: Teacher
Race: Human
Level: 11
Attributes:
Strength: 10 (ATK bonus: 0%)
Endurance: 10 (Vitality/level bonus: 0)
Agility: 11 (Accuracy/DEF bonus: 5%/1)
Intelligence: 11 (Mana pool multiplier: 1.1)
Willpower: 10 (Resistance bonus: 0)
Charisma: 14 (Disposition bonus: 20%)
Luck: 13 (Bonuses unknown)
Derived Attributes:
Vitality:210
Traits:
Gift of Tongues
Skills:
Knife Fighting: 5
Barrier Magic:5
Cook:3
Alchemy:4 (2% to next level)
Trade:1
Diplomacy:2
Assess Target:2
Skill Instruction: 2 (15% to next level)
Spells:
Physical Barrier Rank 3
Mana Barrier Rank 1
Talents:
Channeled Barriers
26
“So how do we get to the next floor?” I was desperate to get off the topic of Mika’s secrets, most likely because I didn’t want to talk to her about my own.
“Mmm. There should be a door around the rear of the dais. It will lead to the living quarters of the priests and wise ones that formerly occupied the temple.” Votess began shifting ruined wooden furniture from where it lay against the walls.
Mika set herself to help. I watched as the pair of them did the work of five of me. Not for the first time I wished I’d put a point or two in Strength. Mika kept glancing at me and then looking away, and I caught a glimpse of her shamed expression. I shook my head. We’d have to clear the air around that at some point, but it could wait.
“Hey, Mika? What happens if an undead level drains a player to level zero?”
Mika wiped sweat from her face and turned to me. “Well, you’d die, and rez at your last bind spot as a level one, unless it was dangerous. Then you’d appear either in a temple of your deity or the nearest safe temple, if you’re godless.”
“What about regular people? Uh, non-players, I mean?”
“They just die. They can’t be resurrected. Sometimes they’ll rise as undead, but mindless ones that wander and mimic the tasks of their daily lives prior to death. They’re not dangerous, generally, unless under the command of a greater undead.”