As the sun comes up over the city of Logis, Rabu sits in the shack where he killed Mara and her father. He's gathered all their valuables and nearly worn himself out moving Mara's body close to her father so he can cover them with the curtain that used to provide privacy for the man's bed.
He sits on Mara's bed and presses the red spot on his wrist, happy with the results as he looks over his character sheet.
Rabu – Level 1
Character Class: Necromancer
Race: Gnome
Hit Points: 40
Mana Points: 35/45
Power – 25
Speed – 35
Intelligence – 80
Affinity – 70
-Negotiation – Level 1
-Language – Level 1
***
Equipment:
Book of Necromancy
Various Reagents
Dull kitchen knife
Silver chain with an empty vial
Sewing kit
First aid kit
Flask (Water from the Spring of the Moon)
Twenty-seven gold pieces
Perfect, Rabu thinks as he gets up from the bed and drags a chair over to the window. Now I just have to figure out how to get more XP.
As a long time gamer, the process is easy for Rabu to understand. He killed two people and he leveled up, so if he kills more people, he'll level up again. Leveling up means he becomes more powerful, and gives him access to more spells in his Book of Necromancy.
Provided he's able to find the reagents.
Rabu stands on the chair and watches out the window as the area comes to life. He watches people leave their rickety shacks and head in various directions. He sees children playing in the street. The appearance of an armored man, similar to the ones by the gate, causes Rabu to sink down to stay out of sight until the armored man passes. A few minutes later, a young girl, about Mara's age, comes walking down the street. Rabu curses under his breath when he realizes she's walking up to the door of the house he's in.
"Mara!" she says, then knocks on the door. "Are you awake?"
Rabu clutches the knife in one hand and a reagent in the other. He isn't sure if he should respond or not, but the girl continues to knock, so he decides he has to do something. The last thing he wants to do is draw a lot of unnecessary attention, and it's clear Mara and her father should be home. Their wagon is by the fence, and their horses are tied up out back.
Rabu quickly walks over to the door, turns the lock and steps to the side.
"Come in." He says, doing his best to mimic Mara's voice.
The door opens slowly and the girl peeks her head in before stepping inside. She notices the pile on the floor covered by the sheet first, then her eyes get wide as she sees the blood.
"Oh no!" She says, spinning around.
"Vin Di!" Rabu waves his hand, crushes the reagent, and watches as the girl stumbles.
She doesn't go down like Mara did, but it's enough of a distraction for Rabu to run forward and drive the knife into her Achilles tendon, which brings her down to the gnome's level with a shriek. Rabu puts a hand over her mouth, and finishes the job, smiling as he watches the life drain out of her eyes. It's not as clean or efficient as Mara's father, and a fair amount of blood splatters on Rabu.
A light surge goes through his body and he sits back, hoping to level up again, but it barely feels like a tease after the rush he got the previous night.
"Damn it." Rabu says. "That wasn't enough."
Rabu runs to the window, hops up on his chair, and looks out to the street. He's worried that the girl's shriek caused others to notice, but it appears to be business as usual. Rabu takes a moment to clean his blade, then returns to the girl.
"Hopefully you have better loot than your friend." Rabu kneels down and starts feeling around.
The girl's attire is much nicer than anything Mara had, and Rabu is pleasantly surprised when he finds a potion around her neck, attached to a chain that appears to be made of white gold or platinum. The vial is made of the same material as the one Mara gave him, so he assumes it's a healing potion. He continues searching the body, finding a pouch with fifteen gold pieces, and a token.
Rabu examines the token, moving closer to the window so he can look at it. It appears to be made out of pewter, and has an emblem that looks like a spool of thread with a needle. On the back, it says 'Tailor's Guild – Apprentice' in a raised font.
"Interesting," Rabu continues examining the token for a moment, then puts it into his pouch, along with the rest of the coins.
He presses his wrist to examine his character sheet.
Rabu – Level 1
Character Class: Necromancer
Race: Gnome
Hit Points: 40
Mana Points: 25/45
Power – 25
Speed – 35
Intelligence – 80
Affinity – 70
-Negotiation – Level 1
-Language – Level 1
***
Equipment:
Book of Necromancy
Various Reagents
Dull kitchen knife
Silver chain with an empty vial
Platinum chain with a full vial (Healing Potion)
Token: Tailor's Guild – Apprentice
Sewing kit
First aid kit
Flask (Water from the Spring of the Moon)
Forty-two gold pieces
Rabu is disappointed that he has no way to tell how close he is to gaining another level, but he is certain he'll get there if he continues to kill people. The problem, he realizes, is that the bodies are beginning to pile up. Moving Mara's body was an exhaustive effort, and moving her friend, saps a lot of the gnomes energy.
He's also hungry.
I wonder if I could eat them, Rabu sighs, looking at the bodies that are covered by the sheet. No, I don't think I'm that desperate. Yet.
Rabu looks at the cooking pot and drags a chair over to examine the measly scraps on the shelf. None of it looks appetizing, even in his hungry state. He sees the two horses outside, which would certainly be okay to eat, but killing and preparing them could be prove to be a challenge due to his size. He also doesn't want to waste reagents until he figures out how to get more, and he hasn't recovered any of his mana points.
The gnome decides that it's best to try and get some sleep, as he was too wired after his kills to go to sleep the previous night. The girl he killed today wasn't nearly as invigorating. Rabu pulls the curtains tight on the windows, goes to Mara's bed, and lays down on the straw mattress. There's a faint lavender scent on the makeshift pillow, which causes Rabu to turn it over, but the smell remains. It's slightly bothersome, but he still manages to fall asleep after tossing and turning a few times.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
When Rabu wakes up, it's dark out, and there isn't much activity outside of the house. He gathers his things, checks his character sheet, and is pleasantly surprised to see that his mana points have fully recovered. He takes some fabric from Mara's dress and drapes it over his head. He hopes, in the darkness, he'll easily pass for a child instead of a gnome, but if anyone looks closely, they'll certainly notice the stubble on his face.
Rabu locks the door when he leaves, pushing the key to the house into one of the pockets in his robe.
He carefully makes his way to the back of the house, looks both directions, and decides to explore his way towards the better part of town. The first house he passes has a window that's too high for him to see into, and he can hear multiple voices inside, so he decides to keep going. The second house is dark, and a quick test of the door confirms it is locked, so he keeps moving forward.
The third house he passes has a window that is lower to the ground, and when he peeks inside, he can see an older woman with gray hair sitting by a fireplace. There's a cooking kettle smoldering over the fire, and Rabu not only spots fresh vegetables, but remnants of a chicken that appears to have recently been killed.
Rabu's thoughts spin as he moves around the back of the house. He sees a small chicken coop with several chickens inside, and and a horse that makes a noise when he gets close. Rabu contemplates his options as he examines his surroundings, and he notices a pitchfork near the back door. Rabu carefully removes it, finding it heavier than he expected, but he's able to lift it.
Alright, he thinks. This one may be harder than the others, but I should be able to pull it off.
Rabu gets close to the horse and pokes it with the pitchfork a couple of times, which causes it to start making a lot more noise. A few seconds later, the back door opens and the woman comes outside, clutching a shawl around her neck.
"Vin Di!" Rabu waves his hand and crushes the reagent.
The older woman stumbles, and due to her age, she's not able to regain her balance once she loses it. Rabu lifts the pitchfork and walks forward, positioning it under her as she falls off the porch. The prongs go straight into her abdomen, but her weight causes Rabu to lose his footing as he tries to hold the pitchfork, and the pair collapses to the ground. Rabu is pinned under the woman, with the pitchfork handle pressing against his neck.
"Damn it!" He mutters. "Fuck!"
Rabu angrily struggles to get free, but doesn't have much luck. He also realizes the woman isn't fully dead. He can hear her guttural gasps as she bleeds out. All he can do is lay there and wait, hoping that her death will level him up and a new spell will give him an option to escape. Unfortunately, when she takes her last breath, and Rabu feels the surge, it's still nothing more than a tease.
Rabu curses a few times and tries to pry himself free, failing multiple times before he squirms just enough to get the pitchfork off his neck and onto his ear. He forces himself to internalize the pain as he continues, feeling blood run from his ear as he continues to squirm. He finally gets free from the pitchfork handle, and digs his nails into the dirt to drag himself out from under the woman.
"Your soup better be fucking amazing," he mutters as he walks up the steps into the house.
The house is nicer than Mara and her father's place. Rabu tears the curtain away from the woman's bed and carries it outside so he can cover her, because he doesn't think there's any way he can get her into the house. He can already imagine the panic that will erupt when one of his victims is discovered, but he has more pressing matters to deal with him.
Primarily, the gnaw in his stomach.
Rabu fixes a bowl of soup from the cooking pot. As expected, the ingredients are fresh, and the chicken tastes amazing. The soup appears to have seasoning and salt, which is much different from the swill he was forced to eat the night before. He sits in the old woman's chair, eats until his belly is full, and grins when he realizes there's wine in the woman's cup. He makes short work of that, and pours some more, walking around the house to figure out what kind of spoils he'll get to take with him when he leaves.
"Ooh, this knife is sharp." Rabu chuckles in delight and tosses the knife from Mara's house on the table.
The woman's house has various herbs, spices, and salts, along with some meat that has been preserved. Rabu goes back outside to check the woman's body for a coin purse, and doesn't find one, so he starts dismantling things in the house, searching for it. He finally finds it beside the woman's mattress, tucked inside the empty pillow case. Her coin purse is much nicer than his, so he swaps them, and examines some more of her things.
I guess I should take care of my ear, Rabu thinks with a sigh. Glad I found that first aid kit.
The first aid kit doesn't have much, but there's a vial of what appears to be salve, so Rabu applies it after cleaning his wound. The salve works pretty fast, and clearly has some magical properties, because the wound feels like more of a scratch after he's done.
Rabu feels content after pillaging the woman's home, but not satiated, because he still hasn't gained another level. He presses down on the spot on his wrist to examine his character sheet, hoping to see something new.
Rabu – Level 1
Character Class: Necromancer
Race: Gnome
Hit Points: 35/40 (Regenerating)
Mana Points: 35/45
Power – 25
Speed – 35
Intelligence – 80
Affinity – 70
-Negotiation – Level 1
-Language – Level 1
***
Equipment:
Book of Necromancy
Various Reagents
Various herbs, spices and salts
Rations (5)
Sharp kitchen knife
Silver chain with an empty vial
Platinum chain with a full vial (Healing Potion)
Token: Tailor's Guild – Apprentice
Sewing kit
First aid kit (2 Uses Remaining)
Flask (Water from the Spring of the Moon)
Eighty-seven gold pieces
Rabu sighs as he stares at his sheet, then looks at his clothes. He's a bloody mess. Thankfully, he's wearing a black robe, but the front is incredibly sticky. He cleans it the best he can, washes the blood from his skin, and the decides to continue his journey.
Once he's outside the house, the stalks over to the chicken coop, and uses his knife to kill them all. He feels no rush from them, so if they give any XP, it's not even enough for a tease. Disgruntled, he walks along the edge of the house, then returns to the road when he spots a fence next door that he can't get past. He doesn't see any houses with low windows, so he's forced to keep going. He comes to a fork in the road, and decides to cut through an ally, but as soon as he does, a shadow darkens the other end.
"Are a lost, child?" A man with a gruff voice asks, taking a few steps closer. "It's a little late for you to be wandering the streets."
Rabu pushes his hands into his robe and contemplates his options.
"I'm sorry, sir," he says in a childlike tone. "I'm just trying to get home. My father is expecting me."
"Got any coin on you?" The man asks and as he moves closer, Rabu realizes he's drunk. "I got kicked out of the tavern because I drank my last gold piece."
"No sir." Rabu says in response, maintaining his tone and taking a few steps back. "We have nothing to spare. I haven't eaten in two days."
"Me either." The man grunts. "Let me take a look in your bag, maybe there's something I can sell."
Rabu clutches a ginger root in his hand, and realizes it is his very last one. He doesn't feel like he has any choice but to use it.
"Vin Di!" Rabu pushes his hand towards the drunkard as he crushes the reagent.
The man barely staggers, quickly putting his hand on the wall for support and cursing as he looks down at his feet. Rabu has to strike now if he's going to, so he runs forward and drives the knife into the man's leg.
"What the hell?" The man asks, looking down and delivering a swift kick to Rabu.
Rabu flies back and bounces off the wall. His knife remains lodged in the man's leg. The man leans down to remove it and Rabu hops to his feet, rushing the man again, this time biting down hard on his other leg.
"You little bastard!" The man yells, spinning around as he tries to dislodge the gnome.
Rabu gets bounced against the wall several times, but holds on, and reaches for the knife. He gets a grip and jerks it forward, slicing deep into the man's calf. This is enough for the man to fall to a knee, howling in pain as he does. Rabu hears a noise in the distance, then shouting, and he realizes someone has heard them. He doesn't have time to finish the man off, so he grabs his knife and runs in the opposite direction.
The rattle on the street behind him sounds like metal, and in his mind, he can picture guards advancing, but he doesn't dare to look back. He runs as fast his short legs can muster, not stopping until he gets back to the safety of the old woman's backyard. But he knows it won't be safe for long, especially if the guards are looking for him. It's only a matter of time before they discover the victims he was able to finish off.
Rabu catches his breath, quickly glances at his character sheet, and notices his hit points are down to 19. He's hesitant to use his only healing potion, and he doesn't have time to tend to his wounds with the first aid kit, so he continues on. He sprints through backyards, ducks around houses, and it isn't long until he hears guards on the street. He looks around in a panic, and keeps going, rapidly running out of breath.
I should have told Jenkins that my character does cardio every day. Rabu pants a few times before he keeps going.
As the section of town gives way to what appears to an assortment of run-down shops, Rabu sees a bridge that goes over some water. Rabu stomps his way through the mud and a foul odor permeates his nostrils.
Sewage? He thinks as the stench of piss and shit overwhelms him. Wait if, there's a sewer…
Rabu looks around and sees an opening beside the bridge. He drops to his knees and pulls on the grate but it doesn't budge. He feels around on the top and bottom, and finds a latch that is rusted. His only option is to try and dislodge it with his knife, and he hears guards in the distance, which forces him to act quicker. After hacking at the rusted latch several times, he gets it open, and crawls into the dark passageway, pulling the grate closed behind him.
Rabu doesn't want to think about what he's crawling through, especially considering the smell, but he's happy that he may have found a hiding spot. The sewer is cramped, even for a gnome, so he doubts he'll have to worry about a guard coming in behind him. Rabu crawls for what feels like an hour before it finally opens up into a wider area where he's able to stand up.
I don't think I'll be leveling up tonight. Rabu slumps against the wall and examines his wounds. At least I don't have to worry about anyone finding me for a while.
As Rabu rests and tries to recover, he hears a squeaking sound, and peers into the darkness, where he sees a rat running along the wall. A smile passes across his lips as he remembers the language he selected.
"Hello there." Rabu rasps, the words coming out as a squeak. "What's your name?"
"Man…" The rat squeaks, moving closer to Rabu and studying him cautiously. "Man talk to rat?"
"I'm a gnome, but yes." Rabu smiles. "Are you hungry? I have some food."
"Food?" The rat asks, walking a little closer. "Food?"
"Here." Rabu digs into his pack and tears off some of the preserved meat. "It's not cheese, but..."
The rat takes the meat and quickly devours it, then looks up at Rabu, standing on it's hind legs as it does.
"Food?" The rat asks.
"Your language is very limited." Rabu ponders as he offers the rat some more of the meat. "But maybe you can learn…"
Rabu leans forward, and tilts his head slightly.
"Food?" The rat asks again as it finishes the meat.
"Meat." Rabu says, as he tears off another piece. "Say, meat. This food is meat."
"Meat," the rat repeats in Rattus, the langues they are speaking to each other.
"Yes!" Rabu says excitedly, then points at himself. "I'm Rabu."
"Man is Rabu," the rat clarifies. "I am rat."
"Name is Rabu," the gnome says, trying to communicate with the inferior being. "Rat is?"
"Rat," the rodent squeaks.
"What do other rats call you?" Rabu tilts his head.
"Rat," the rodent repeats.
"What do you call the other rats?" Rabu asks.
"Rat," the rodent says as it climbs on Rabu's shoe. "Meat?"
"Here." Rabu hands over another piece of the meat. "You need a name other than rat. I'm going to call you Piper."
"Pi-per," the rat repeats slowly.
"Do you like it?" Rabu asks.
"Pi-per," the rodent says with the syllables coming together better. "Piper."
"We've got some work to do, Piper." Rabu grins. "Do you have any friends? Other rats?"
"Piper knows other rats," the rodent squeaks. "Meat?"
"After you take me to your friends." Rabu looks up. "Um, show me the other rats. Then you get meat."
"Other rats?" The rodent turns and scurries way. "Follow me!"
"Wait," Rabu rasps as he gets to his feet. "Slow down."
Rabu continues down the tunnel, trying to catch up with Piper, his thoughts already spinning with ideas.
Maybe there would be a way for him to earn XP without brutally murdering people in their homes.
Or maybe, he could still do that, and he wouldn't even have to get his hands dirty.