My pulse was still pounding in my ears as Bushra stared at me in shock over what just happened. I imagine my expression was similar. Was that her Radiant Strike in action? I don't know how she pulled it off, but damn, that was impressive. I tracked where Bruce landed, and saw him motionless against the loading dock wall, just past the van. I shook off my daze and headed that way to make sure Bruce was incapacitated.

Bruce's gory visage is oozing blood, but he's still breathing – unconscious, but not dead. I kicked him hard to be sure, and he took it like a sack of potatoes, rolling over on his side. Then I used Inventory to put the handgun in my back pocket again, turned off Aura of Inspiration, and reached for Bruce's right hand. It was still clutched tightly in a fist, as if to a lifeline. I peeled open his fingers to be sure there was no other device hidden in his palm, and peered suspiciously at the ring on his finger. I used Appraise to be sure.

Ring of Paralysis

Well, that's pretty clear. But Bruce having it makes no sense. It existing at all in this world made no sense. I tugged at the ring. It was affixed tightly to his finger, but the blood on his hands acted as an effective if gruesome lubricant. I was finally able to work it off his hand. The moment I did, a notification appeared:

Quest Complete.

A Fractured Pride.

Level Up!

You are now Level 4.

Level Up!

Your companion has gained a new level!

Level Up!

Your companion has gained a new level!

New Quest.

Journey's Respite

Accept? Y/N

My first thought was confused: did Bushra level up twice? I was still struggling to keep up with everything. I ignored the notifications for now and tried to think about what to do next.

In the meantime, Bushra had come up behind me.

"What is it?" She asks. Her gaze looking down at my hands was a bit wild, but she was focusing.

"I think it's what he was using to paralyze us." I gestured weakly at Bruce. "I'm going to tie him up before he recovers. Can you get Thorsten?"

"Yeah. Right." Bushra licked her lips, sounding dazed, and headed off toward the loading dock. I checked Location quickly to make sure there weren't any other people nearby. I saw a couple of quest markers inside the building that I'd have to look at later, but no other people. Bruce's dot on the map no longer showed up in red. Maybe because he was incapacitated? Thorsten's marker was also blue, and remained unmoving as Bushra's yellow marker approached him.

I let out a long, slow breath, and regarded the now sticky ring in my hands. It would undoubtedly be useful right now. But I've read too many fantasy stories of cursed items to put it on un-investigated. I tried to rub some of the blood off on Bruce's shirt, then put it in the front pocket of my jeans for later. At least Bruce won't have it. I checked his pockets while I was at it, and found a few zip-ties. Perfect.

Bruce was a big man, but my boosted strength was enough to pull him over and into the van. Then I zip-tied his wrists to the same metal beam I was bound to, and zip-tied his ankles together for good measure. He was still entirely limp, and I hoped he wasn't bleeding internally. Too much. I had questions.

I checked the van while I was at it. The rear was bare and empty, but I found both of our bags in the front passenger seat. That's a problem solved. I reached gingerly into mine and pulled out a small packet of wet wipes and tried to get the blood off my hands. I heard a thump and the van rocked a little. I stepped away toward the back, and found Bushra by the side of the van glaring down at Thorsten on the ground. He was sitting up against a rear wheel, clutching at his head and looking pale. I handed Bushra her handbag, then took out some of the remaining zip-ties. I tied Thorsten's wrists behind his back, then tied his ankles together as well. He groaned and flailed weakly, ultimately toppling over on his side. But it was an easy enough task to accomplish. Stepping back, I looked down with a frown.

"So what now?" Bushra asks. "Should we call the cops?" She'd found her phone in her bag, and was surprised to see the battery was missing. She rummaged around until she found the battery in the bottom of her bag, and put it back together. Mine was probably in the same state, I thought.

"Not yet. I want to have a look around, and we probably won't get the chance once the police show up." I glared down at Thorsten. "I also want to ask these two a few questions." Thorsten didn't respond. He didn't seem to be hearing anything at the moment. Did I hit him too hard?

"I have questions, too." Bushra turned to me. "Let's start with what, how, and why. What the hell was that thing he had?" She waved in Bruce's direction.

"You mean that ring? I'm guessing it was some kind of item that causes paralysis. I've never seen one before, so I'm not sure how it works. But he kept pointing it at us."

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"How'd we get free? Did it wear off or something?" Bushra's eyes went back and forth, processing.

I hesitated, unsure how far down the rabbit hole to go. Bushra picked up on my silence, and her frown deepened.

"I also felt stronger all of a sudden. And then there was that bright flash when I kicked that guy. What was that?" Her voice was flat as she watched my face.

"Uh, that was… uhm." I faltered.

"Tell me the truth," Bushra asked in a firm tone. "You know something. What is it?" Her voice was hard but almost pleading.

"You aren't going to believe me," I sighed and put the inside of my wrist on my forehead, avoiding getting traces of Bruce's blood on my face.

"After tonight, I don't know what to believe. Except," she paused. "I believe in you." Her mouth quirked up in the ghost of a laugh. "I'm not sure what you did, but I felt… something… from you. Before that weird paralysis faded." I could see her consciously inhale and exhale, relaxing her shoulders and neck. "If you really don't want to tell me, that's okay." Her brow furrowed in denial of her claim, but her smile grew a little wider.

I searched her face, and found questions, concern, and… something like faith. If not now, then when? Where to even start?

I dove in. "It began when I was hit by that truck, and a god pulled me out of this world."

✦ ✦ ✦

"Wait, so Iter's a god?" Bushra and I had moved over to the loading dock area and we were leaning on the raised platform. We had a good view of Thorsten and the rear of the van.

"Yeah. A god of journeys or paths, I haven't figured it out exactly yet." I could just ask him, I thought. He never came out and said anything, but the way Lex was talking made me realize there were godly domains or portfolios. I wonder what Lex's and Metam's were?

"And he turned you into a hero?" Hearing her say it out loud, it sounded even crazier.

"Yeah." I nodded.

"But you were fired by that other god, what's-his-name?" Bushra was going to get wrinkles if she kept trying to scrunch her face up like that.

"Metam. And not so much fired as laid off." I wondered as I said it why that mattered. But I was surprised to find it did.

"Sure," she conceded. "And you can do magic now?" she raised an eyebrow.

"No, there's not supposed to be any magic in this world. According to Iter, anyway."

She looked at me oddly. "Then what do you call what you and I did tonight?"

"Well, that's just skills. Iter said it was divine power, not magic."

"What's the difference?" Bushra scrunched her face back up.

"Honestly, I don't really get it myself." I sighed and gave up.

Bushra considered, looking in the direction of the van. "What about that guy's ring? That's not magic?"

I frowned and pulled it out of my pocket to look at it. Bushra peered down at it in my palm as well. It looked like a simple gold ring with a red stone, like a garnet or ruby. It seemed relatively new, with hardly any scratches or wear. "Maybe? I'm not sure. I only know this is what he used because I was able to Appraise it."

"Hmm." I could hear the incredulity in her voice. "Can you show me something, then?"

What could I show her?

I opened Status and looked at her inventory. Then I moved her phone to my hand.

"Woah!" Bushra exclaimed, as her phone appeared in my previously empty palm. She looked in her bag to confirm it was missing, that it was the same phone. "How'd you do that? That's not magic?"

"No, it's technically just an inventory action, it's not even a skill. I can add and remove things from my inventory just by thinking about it. It also works on your inventory, too." I put the phone back, then moved her wallet to her pocket.

"That's weird," she stated, feeling in her pocket and pulling out the wallet with an uncomfortable look.

"I know, right? Most of the basics are like that. Video game mechanics applied to real life. I can see your status, too, view your health, and even level you up. That's what I did in the van." I gestured vaguely at her body. "Since you're part of the Hero's party, apparently we can both level up at certain points. I haven't figured out all the mechanics yet. Sorry, by the way." I looked down at the ground. "It was an emergency, so I, uhm, updated your base stats and selected some skills for you."

"Why are you sorry?" Bushra seemed confused.

"Well, it just seemed wrong to do without your consent. You know, to change your body and things." I stumbled a bit over the explanation. Bushra seemed to realize what I meant though, as her eyes widened at the implications.

"Oh. Yeah, don't do that again," she muttered softly, attention focused inward. I saw her flex her arm as if testing the changes. "What exactly did you do?"

"I increased your Body attribute, which affects physical strength and stamina. Oh, and I accepted a new class for you, paladin. And I gave you new skills to resist paralysis and that explosion kick you did. Okay, that's kind of a lot, now that I say it out loud," I rambled.

Bushra blinked mutely, unable to absorb it all. Then she pressed her lips together in thought.

A thump sounded from the direction of the van, and it rocked heavily.

"I think our hosts have woken up." I said, looking in that direction. Looks like we'd have to finish this conversation later.

✦ ✦ ✦

"Having a tantrum, are we?" I stepped into the van and turned on the overhead light to behold Bruce's twisting form as he tried to gain some leverage against his bindings. Bushra followed soon after, glaring down at the bound man like so much shit on her shoe.

"You bitch! What did you do! You set me up!" The blood had ceased flowing and was now crusted over on his face, not making him any more attractive. Spittle flew from his mouth as his eyes burned in our direction. Another thump rocked the van as he tried to somehow lunge at us from his position.

"Tch, tch, now there's no reason to be so cranky," I shook my head slighatly in mock sympathy. I'd enabled Augur's Insight before stepping in the van, but I didn't need it to feel the waves of rage roiling off the man. The skill was starting to give me a headache with how much Focus I'd used earlier. I'd recovered some, but not enough it seemed.

At this point Bruce went into a tiresome litany of all the unpleasant things he would do to the two of us once he was free. Some of them didn't seem anatomically possible. Bushra winced in repulsion, but stood firm next to me.

"Now is that any way to treat your guests? You went to a lot of trouble to bring us here." I squatted down in front of him, safely out of reach. I narrowed my eyes and smiled in slight confusion. I could feel his helplessness eating away at him. Even worse, he was now helpless before his victim. But I sensed a sly calculation forming. He thought he could turn the tables.

He tried to spit at me, but the angle was bad and it just looked pathetic.

I pulled the ring out from my pocket and held it up, examining it in front of him. "It wasn't just to give me this ring, was it? If so, I'm afraid you're hardly my type." I smiled sadly down at him.

His face drained of all color as he stared at the ring in my hand. All thoughts of escape and vengeance were immediately replaced with an overwhelming fear. Fear of me, but also towards something or someone else.

"But I'm not one to step on a poor man's feelings." I grinned, rolling the ring back and forth between my thumb and two fingers . "After all, promises like this aren't given or set aside easily." I was feeling my way through the tangle of his emotions. He seemed to twitch at the word 'promises'. "Why don't you tell me about it?"