Your Level-Up Request has been Denied by [Essence Slave Collar] Administrator
You Have Completed Side Quests!
Tony sighed and pulled up his quest log. Despite the Exhaustion Debuff expiring, he still felt lethargic... weakened...
Archon Quest: Berserking the Berserker - Complete!
Reward: XP, Bloody Haste Ascendant Talent Restored!
Archon Quest: Bitter Sting - Completed!
Reward: XP, Oath and Sacred Vow Ascendant Talents Restored!
Archon Quest: Rend the Sky - Completed!
Reward: XP, Adamant Slash+ Ascendant Talent Restored!
Tony nearly jumped out of his seat. Regaining Adamant Slash, his favorite talent, certainly gave cause to celebrate; the pounding headache gave cause to sit back down.
"Why do I feel like such shit?" he wondered aloud.
Tony scanned his character sheet for anomalies when he found it.
Debuff: Hamaskyr Withdrawal
You have ingested a large amount of Berserker's Brew and your body wants more. You can continue to function as normal but your body knows that it can function at a higher level and will have no issue letting you know.
Duration: 3 Days
"Fuck," Tony muttered. He navigated to his settings and toggled the "Hide Buffs/Debuffs" option. He didn't need anyone to know about that. He closed his eyes, and before sleep could claim him, the doors to the barracks from the rest of the facility slammed open. Tony's eyes opened to see Vixie tossed over the threshold and the doors slam shut behind her. He was planning to ignore her until she met his gaze, stood, and approached him.
"What do you want?" he growled.
She hesitated for a moment and sat next to him on the dingy bench.
"I wanted to check on you, what are your symptoms?" she asked.
"Symptoms?"
"From the withdrawals," she asked flatly "I am the one who made the potion, I know what happens when someone has too much."
"Headaches, I'm tired... weak..."
"Loss of color in your vision? Tremors? Small bursts that feel like the potion?" she asked.
"No... no... and no? Are those all things that are coming?"
"Those are the more severe side effects... I gotta say that her highness got a real kick out of watching you fight like that..."
"What makes you think I care about that?" Tony snapped.
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"Irritability too, huh?" Vixie chirped, "I didn't think you would care about that, I do think that you'll care about the quest she gave me."
Tony arched a brow, "Go on."
"She gave me a repeatable quest to turn in flasks of Hamaskyr to her. If I give her ten more, she'll release me to the Arach Empire..."
Tony stared blankly at her.
"Look, I can't stay here, so it's either you get me out of here or I do."
Rancor has Activated
Tony did his best to suppress the sudden flash of rage by clenching his teeth and his fists.
"I get it, I just need to beat the champion and then I'll have everything I need to get out of here and I will take you with me," Tony snarled.
"Do you promise?" Vixie asked, unphased by his sudden flare in temper.
Tony smirked glad for the opportunity to use some of his regained talents, "It is my Sacred Vow."
Vixie nodded and wring her hands, "I'm still going to make the potions..." she whispered, "to maintain appearances, at least... I have to or Serketzi will get suspicious..."
"Because you already accepted the quest..." Tony sighed.
Vixie stared at her thumbnails and the dirt underneath them, "Because I already accepted the quest..."
Tony took a deep breath and released the anger in his chest; there was nothing he could do about any of that now. He got to his feet, the bonuses from Sacred Vow offsetting the Hamaskyr withdrawals enough for the headache not to be debilitating.
"Sounds like we both have work to do then. Come on," he said, offering a hand down to the Elf.
Vixie took his hand, stood, and shook it.
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Meanwhile... back on the Hagh' Tanak
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Maximus was not happy.
Embry was very content to listen.
"I jus' dongeddit. Me an' Daddi was s'posed to visit spooder lady in big tree after they getted there, but Daddi no call me yet. I no like it," the Dog of War confided.
Embry nodded thoughtfully.
“I know righ? Is no good, somefin bad hasta happened!”
Embry brushed his claws against his tusks.
“You know, you right friendo, I gotta do somefin!” Maximus declared.
Embry, seemingly satisfied with his silent advice, stood up on all fours, brushed against Maximus’s leg, and strode off in search of Vasna.
Max, however, bounded off toward his and Tony’s room through the large metal halls of the Flagship. Running was one of the dog’s favorite things to do, especially when it was to go do something. As he slid over the threshold to his room, Maximus dipped to the right, avoiding the slender elf standing in the space. He tumbled into the curtains and the hamper of dirty clothes, sending them everywhere.
The elf woman jumped and shrieked in surprise but relaxed as soon as Maximus freed himself from the grasp of laundry. It was Esava, the rogue that had been assigned as Tony’s bodyguard.
“Ey! Bodyguard lady! Why you no do job good? My Daddi is be gone, missing! Can smell him but just cause of clothes…” Maximus said in a series of barks and whines.
“What?” Esava answered.
Maximus tilted his head and approached then repeated himself, slowly.
“Bodyguard lady… Why no do job good? My Daddi is be gone… is missing! Can smell him but just a cause of clothes…”
”Where’s your master, huh boy?” Esava asked as she scratched behind Max’s ear.
The pats were nice, but Maximus was on a mission. He shook out his ears and put the woman’s arm in his mouth and led her over to the window. He dropped her arm and pointed his snout out the viewport, toward the pair of green-gray stars in the distance.
“Daddi goed there… with spooder lady… was supposed to call Maximus… was too much forever ago… something wrong…” he whined.
Esava looked back and forth between Maximus and the stars, “What are you trying to tell me boy?”
”Heckin’ dang it…” Maximus growled.
“What?” Esava cooed.
“I SAID HECKING DANG IT!” Maximus barked.
“D-dang it?” Esava asked in a mimicked bark.
“YA YA YA!!! GOOD BORK!” Maximus cheered.
“Shit, I have to learn how to speak dog…”