Chapter 2: The Beastmage

Catalysta hugged the wall near Bannor’s upstairs window and peered out the thick uneven panes. The Fasthaven Chateau inner grounds appeared deserted except for a few chickens that bobbed about, having escaped their coups. They pecked at the ground near the fountain in the middle of the area--with the well in Bannor’s yard being dry, that must be where the residents got their water. The fountain was pretty plain, just a large and wide basin at the ground level with a single spire spout that gushed clean and clear water.

The Agents of Shadow were nowhere to be seen, just like the map had indicated, but she still couldn’t trust that because she hadn’t analyzed them herself. And if she were them, she’d be looking for the one that attacked and killed their party members. What kind of idiots would just sit and wait for the enemy to come to them? The kind that knew the attacker would be coming for them and the kind that knew they could not be beaten. Well, Catalysta would use their stupidity and hubris against them. So,Catalysta focused on the chicken and was surprised to find that she was close enough for the skill to activate.

Chicken. Common variety. Common animal. Plentiful across Gamdrea in all areas. Both wild and domesticated varieties exist. Non-hostile unless it witnesses you attack its brethren for sport. Then watch out. HP 1/1.

Moving away from the window, and out of sight of anyone who would potentially enter the inner yard and look her way, Catalysta placed her hand on the wall and her map opened up for her. Several of the previously white and untagged dots now read chicken. The dots were still white but she could see what they were now. She tapped one of the dots with her free hand and a menu appeared before her.

Would you like to remove the animal, Chicken, from your map display? Yes/No

She chose yes, and about fifty percent of the white dots vanished from her map. Off to the side of her map words appeared, just as the map had. It was a head reading ‘Hidden From View,’ and then beneath that was the word ‘Chicken.’ She could toggle it on and off. That would be very useful currently, and in the future. She did wonder if there was a way to have her map up all the time, in the corner of her interface or something, but maybe she just hadn’t unlocked it yet. Again it was something else to figure out, but later.

With another quick glance out of the window to make sure the enemies were still inside, she moved down the stairs and past Bannor, who was hunched over his alchemy tools, in the midst of concocting potions for her. She stopped at his back door, and turned to him.

“I’m going to work my way around Fasthaven,” she said, “Hopefully I can gather some help before the other Dreamwalkers notice, but if they do--”

Without even looking up from his work, the dwarf said, “If they do, they’ll leave me be. They think I’m a bird right now afterall.”

“True enough,” Catalysta said, before she slipped out the door.

All of Fasthaven was surrounded by a twenty foot high, stone wall. Catalysta had not noticed it before when she fell out of the well because she was a bit preoccupied by not dying. She wondered momentarily what the wall was supposed to keep out, but that was another matter for a later time.She also hadn’t noticed that Bannor’s dry well was hidden from the inner yard of the chateau by a wooden fence covered in vines that glowed softly to her eyes; she’d have to investigate those and the other softly glowing plants in ground around the well, which was now obviously the dwarven alchemist’s herb garden. The fence extended and curved around to attach to the wall. She could see a neighbor’s house on the other side of the fence but she decided getting over that fence wouldn’t be easy. She really only had one direction to go. Because of the fence, and then the walls of Bannor’s house, the inner yard was not visible until she crossed the small alleyway between his and the next building over. She crossed the gap quickly after peering around the corner to make sure no one was out there to potentially see her. She easily returned to cover behind the abandoned blacksmith shop, dodging the discarded anvils and broken tools she didn’t know the names of. It didn’t look like much of a forge, at least not to her limited knowledge of them from Renaissance festivals and fantasy books. It just looked like an abandoned shop to her, and not of much note.

Her map showed no one inside, but before moving on she glanced through the back cracked window and saw a ransacked room covered with dust. She continued her progression, crouched down, and turned the corner of the shop that stretched all the way to the gates leading into the Fasthaven’s inner courtyard. They opened outwards and were lashed to the exterior of the wall to keep them from closing. The distance to cover from the abandoned shop to the next building over, was about fifty feet and the gate was directly across from the inn.

Catalysta let out a puff of breath, again looking around the corner of the building, towards the inn, quickly scanning the windows for any type of movement or figures. Seeing none, she sprinted across the opening, maintaining her crouch the whole time. When she reached the new building, she swung behind the corner and leaned against the wall, sliding to the grass as she gasped for breath and her heart pounded. A notification popped up in her peripheral vision before vanishing.

You have learned the skill, Sneak.

Did that mean someone had been watching and she had avoided being seen? Or had her act of trying to sneak around caused the skill to be learned? She didn’t know which answer she preferred.

Letting out a deep breath, she turned to rise and came face to face with a large pink snout that snuffled at her through the slats in the pin connected to the house. Catalysta squawked and fell backwards before scrambling back behind the cover of the house. An unwanted notification popped up.

The Agents of Shadow have become suspicious of your whereabouts. Be more careful or they will come to investigate.

Great. She turned back to the pig and used Analyze on it.

Man turned Pig: this pig was once a villager at Fasthaven before the Beastmage polymorphed him. He is one you have been sent to help. HP 5/5. Return him to his human form to find out his name.

Catalysta looked the pig over as it stared at her intently, making no sound.

“Can you understand me?” she asked, keeping her voice low. “Stomp your foot twice for yes and once for no.”

The pig picked his foot up and set it back down deliberately, twice.

“Okay,” Catalysta said, “My name is Catalysta and I’m here to help. I’m going to turn you back into a human, so don’t go making a racket or the enemies might hear you.” The pig repeated his earlier gesture.

“Scoot back a little,” said Catalysta, I don’t want you to turn back into a human with your head stuck through the fence. The pig complied and Catalysta reached out. Rather than saying Void Touch out loud, she said it in her mind. It worked and the vortex at the end of her finger pulled the red mana out of the pig, who morphed back into a human. Her Void Points drained and then refilled slightly. Catalysta was thankful he still had his clothes on, however, they were covered with mud.

The man before her was elderly, white hair sparsely covering his head and his face was lined with deep wrinkles. He suddenly reached forward and grabbed her face in his hands. With a strength that belied his looks he pulled her close and kissed her forehead.

“Thank you, thank you, my dear. Now do my son, Granden, he’s just over there.” He pointed to the other corner of the pen where a much larger boar lay, sleeping.

She didn’t need to look at her Void gauge, she knew she didn’t have enough, “I can’t, I can’t activate the skill.” She used analyze on the old man.

Rondor Leatherworks: Leatherworker laborer. Level 8. Neutral Good. Hitpoints 389/400. This formerly turned pig came to Fasthaven because of his son, who in turn came because of a woman. He is a widower. He plies his trade in leather working and is of great use in his craft wherever he goes, despite his aged appearance.

Randor looked at her, his eyebrows drawing together, “I see, what is required to activate the skill?”

“I--” started Catalysta, “I need Void Points.” She waited to see if he knew what she was talking about, but the old man was silent. “And I get those by people casting spells on me. Do you have any spells you can cast on me?”

“I don’t have many and my mana regeneration is slo, but Narry, she might be able to help us better.

The back door of the house banged open, startling the boar in the corner awake, as an older woman rushed out. The woman had a wild look in her eye, and half the hair strayed from her bun waving wildly as she searched the back pin for danger. She must have heard Catalysta and Randor speaking and thought something bad was happening. The old woman noticed Catalysta first thing--even before the Randor’s return to the human race.

“Who--” Narry--at least that’s who Catalysta assumed it was--started to loudly question this trespasser in her backyard, but Randor clamped his hand over her mouth and shushed her. Unfortunately, his hands were still covered in mud, and also unfortunately, Narry bit the hand that restrained her. Randor grunted in pain as Narry spit mud colored saliva into the dirt. The boar watched the whole exchange stoically; Catalyst noted but she decided to wait and use analyze on him after she returned him to human.

“Don’t you ever dare do that again,” she said, her volume much lower, “You are filthy and you just got mud and who knows what all over my--Randor, how…” At last she realized his return to normalcy.

Randor was still shaking his injured hand as he pointed at me, “She has a skill that negates it, but she needs something called Void Points to make it work.”

“Who? How…has the Steward answered our call? Is she enough to defeat them?”

Narry wasn’t speaking to Catalysta, but she responded anyway, “I don’t know, but they’re already down by two, so that’s something.” As she spoke she used her skill on the old woman.

Narry Stichsword: Myrmidon Tailor, Level 10. Hit Points 597/600. This seamstress and tailor came to Fasthaven when it was first founded. She is a former adventurer and helped establish the initial domain of the Chateau. When she had her daughter she retired from adventuring and opened a shop to help make and repair clothes and certain armors. She shares a business with Randor when the Chateau is open for business, though they are not involved with each other in any other capacity than business partners, they are technically family because of their children.

“Perhaps we can take back the Chateau if you can turn everyone back into humans. What is it that you need?”

Catalyst hoped she didn’t have to keep explaining things to everyone she met, “Can you cast a spell on me. I’m pretty sure anything will do, attack, defense, healing. As strong and as many as you can--both of you if possible.”

The old woman hesitated, “What will happen?”

“Look, I promise, you won’t hurt me, the spells will probably fail and I’ll get what I need.” Catalysta wished the two would hurry up. Who knew the Agents of Shadow would come out looking for her or not.

“Okay, but my spells usually are cast on items not people.”

“That’s fine, that might work too, just try, please.”

Narry put out her calloused, slightly wrinkled hands, and without saying a word started moving them as if she was directing a band without a baton. This went on for about thirty seconds before she made a sharp sweeping motion with her hands in opposite directions. Catalyst watched her Void Point gauge fill by 150 points giving her a total of 175/275. She almost had enough.

“That was good, can you…” she looked back to Narry, who was breathing hard. A health gauge flashed for a moment; the spell had taken about 50 points of health away. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes, I wanted to give you the strongest buff I could muster, and that spell drains mana, health, and stamina, but it is generally worth it. It should have mended all your armor and imbued your clothing with haste, but it’s like my spell just vanished the moment it touched you.”

“Well,” Catalyst said, “It sort of did, my skill sucked up your cost of your spell and converted it to Void Points. But I don’t have enough. I still need at least 25 more to turn that big boy back into a human.” She jabbed her thumb at the boar that had moved closer and was watching intently.

“Give me a moment,” said Narry, still trying to catch her breath. The spell had been difficult and painful and Catalysta could tell the old woman was hurting. She didn’t like causing people pain that didn’t deserve it.

“No worries, but how ‘bout for the next one just use mana.” Catalyst turned to Randor, who seemed to be meditating while standing but he was muttering something unintelligible under his breath, his hands steepled together. As she watched his words came to a stop, he opened his eyes and reached out to her with one hand open palm, waiting. She stared at the outstretched hand blankly, before hesitantly reaching out her own hand in a slow high five. As soon as she made contact with him her Void Point gauge went up to 218/275. Randor’s mana gauge flashed momentarily, showing 3/46 mana remaining. The poor man held his head. Maybe low mana gave people headaches? Or maybe it was a potential side effect of trying to cast a spell on someone with a Mythic Ability.

“I’ve got enough, hang on.” She turned to the boar, who by now was staring up at her from only a few feet away. She smiled and touched her finger to its nose, sucking out the red mana from the boar. Her VP gauge reduced to 18/275 and then went up to 43/275. She immediately used Analyze on the newly returned human.

Granden: Town Guard Spearman, Level 17. Hit Points 897/900. Came to Fasthaven for his bride and was hired by the mayor to help protect the Chateau. He has not become renowned enough for a surname of his own and does not wish to be known as a Leatherworks as his path is more on a warrior way. He was the first target of the Beastmage upon his arrival.

Granden’s transformation, like his father’s, was almost instantaneous. He stood straight with a strong square jaw and raven dark hair. His hands, feet, and clothes were covered in mud, both wet and dry, but it didn’t distract at all from his Disney prince good looks. The guardsman didn’t spare a look at Catalysta and instead started towards the back door of Nerry’s house.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Nerry said as she clutched at the waist of her own shirt.

“I need to rescue Gizzette.” He said it simply, not stopping his stride.

“Fool,” continued Nerry, “the Beastmage will turn you back into a boar.”

Granden whirled around, “What do you expect me to do?! They have my wife! I can’t just stand around while they do Steward knows what to her in that inn!”

“Don’t you think I feel the same? She’s my daughter! But you don’t stand a chance. Calm yourself and assess the situation and this one here.” Nerry gestured towards Catalysta, who stood staring at the little drama, unsure if she should do anything or let it play out.

Granden turned to her, his eyes narrowing, as he looked her up and down. After a moment of failed Analyze he said, “Who are you?”

“I’m Catalysta,” she said shortly, “And I’m immune to the Beastmage’s magic. My plan was to go around the town and turn everyone back to human and then we take out the invaders together.”

Granden pursed his lips and looked past Catalysta in thought. “We’ll need ranged weapons. If you distract them we can ambush them. It might work. You said their numbers are down by two?”

Catalysta nodded as Granden continued speaking, but it was more of a mumble as he worked through his own additions to the plan, “I’ll need to get to the highest point, maybe the third floor of the manor house--but they control that…”

“No, actually they don’t,” said Catalysta, interrupting his rambling, “I do, and uh, it’s got, uh self-defense measures activated against those I consider enemies.” Granden’s eyes widened as he stared at Catalysta.

“Why didn’t you say that first off? The manor house is highly defensible.”

“I didn’t propose defense,” said Catalysta, “I mean to take the fight to them.” She was showing a bit more bravado than she actually felt, especially with the memory of the pain she felt still strong in her mind.

Granden chuckled at that. At the same time her Void Points shot up by another 57. She glanced at Nerry, who nodded at her and began conducting her mana into a spell once more. Catalysta was glad she was just using her mana rather than her heath as well. She saw only her mana bar flash. The woman had plenty left. She was a former adventurer after all and it seemed like she understood the bare basics of how Catalysta’s skill worked.

“I like you,” said Granden, “We’ll go together for now and I’ll part with you at the manor and position myself.” Catalysta thought it would be good to have a sniper, even it would be an arrow instead of a bullet.

“Sounds good,” she said, before turning to Nerry again, who had finished another spell to fill the Void Point gauge a little more. “Nerry, do you know the state of the other villagers? Bannor didn’t seem to know much about the others and I thought perhaps you could give me some more insight?”

The older woman glanced at the two men, hesitating, before saying, “You two get inside and grab your bows, yes you too Randor, make sure your son’s armor is set.” She continued conducting a mana spell over Catalysta as she spoke to them, but fell silent again until after they vanished inside, as if she hadn’t even heard Catalysta’s question.

“Sorry,” said Nerry, “Didn’t want them to know and maybe storm to their deaths.”

“Okay,” said Catalysta slowly.

“Gizette’s fine. My girl has got a problem with dirt and cleans things obsessively. She was working in the inn when the invaders arrived and they conscripted her. They are using her as a serving girl and just a serving girl. She told me the Beastmage won’t allow the Dreamwalkers to touch her because she makes sure he gets everything he wants or needs. Lilliana is fine too, just gets pushed around some, maybe some bruises. But she’s mostly left alone as long as she keeps the larder of the inn full and doesn’t talk back. Minds her own business and they pretty well leave her alone. She’s a bit homely Lilliana, but she’s a good heart. But poor Chitany. Every day when we’re allowed to the fountain to get water, she tells me new horrors. One of the Dreamwalkers does unspeakable things to her every day.” A ball of disgust formed in Catalysta’s stomach as searing anger ripped through her chest. Nerry continued, “I can hear her screams sometimes. Those poor children in that house…she fears he will turn to them if she resists. Be careful, he goes there often when he’s here. He enjoys her pain and fear and is the strongest of the Dreamwalkers in Fasthaven--” She cut off as Granden returned, a set of leathers stretched over his dirty clothes and a bow and quiver slung over his shoulder.

“Ready?” said Granden.

Catalysta quelled the storm raging inside her and nodded. These people were databits, why was she getting so worked up? It really wasn’t anything new. She was the type of person who would restart from a last save if she upset an NPC.

She looked back to Nerry, “Do they stay in the inn most of the time?”

“Sometimes. Right now, my guess, is that if you control the manor house, they are waiting for you to come to them. Especially since you sent two of them to the netherlands.”

“Makes sense, but they won’t wait for me forever.” Catalyst looked at Granden, “Yeah, let’s go.”

The guardsman looked at his dad, “Da, you think you can get to Bannor? Let him know this one has gotten us back?”

“I’ll try, but I’m no scout with sneak.”

“I believe in you.”

“What about me? Should I just sit and twiddle my thumbs?” Nerry asked.

Catalyst spoke up, “He might need some help with making the potions. I don’t really know anything about it, but if you guys have been confined separately, he’d welcome the company, I bet.” Plus having them go that way might split the enemy’s focus. Sure she might have to turn a few more animals back into people, but that shouldn’t be too hard.

Catalysta and Granden nodded to one another and moved towards the other side of the back pen, before climbing over it and crouch running to the next house, easily staying out of sight of the inn. As they passed Granden paused and looked through the window.

“That’ll upset Gizette.”

“What?”said Catalysta, a little annoyed at the delay.

“Oh nothing,” murmured Granden as he began moving again, “It was dusty in there and my wife has an obsession with cleaning.”

“Okay,” said Catalysta. It was a weird thing to be worried about in the middle of an operation to save his wife and liberate the chateau. That small pause meant nothing though as the two continued through the backyards of another vacant storefront and house before they arrived at another residential building. This one had no pen in the back and had several chickens free ranging and pecking at the ground searching for food. The coop where they nest looked to have been neglected for a few days with its hay bedding all flat and muddy. A couple of goats slowly munched on whatever they could find. Their feed trough too was empty, and only a few inches of water sood in their tank. At the far end of the yard, where the side wall of the manor sat, another large pig lay in the dry dirt, its back pressed against the house. Were all the women keeping their men outside because they were pigs and didn’t want to get their houses dirty? Or was it because the enemy had forbid them to stay in the houses? Honestly, Catalysta didn’t know what she would do that situation if she was given a choice.

She and Granden moved on without spooking the goats, however, her movement set the hens behind the next house into a furious clucking cacophony.

“I’m not here for your eggs you stupid birds,” she whispered fiercely, but they didn’t quiet down until she moved on. Chickens will be chickens, she guessed. At least they weren’t attacking her or Granden.

“I’ll go in and warn Lilliana,” he nodded at the pig, “You turn Kiles back into a human. He’s got a few offensive spells, too, to help us out.” Catalysta nodded as Granden quietly opened the back door of the residence. The pig who would soon be Kiles again, didn’t notice her as she approached and, continued to sleep. She reached out and initiated a Void Touch, again bringing her gauge too low to perform it again. Kiles, who by all appearances was an incredibly heavy sleeper, continued to snooze even as he was once again his normal self.

Of all the men so far, this one was the most filthy. Catalysta couldn’t see a clean patch on him anywhere--even his face and hair was caked with mud. And this guy was supposed to have spells to use on her? She’d always imagined mages as more refined, more cerebral, more…something. The man was so dirty, she didn’t even want to touch him; she didn’t want her boot to touch him. And like a kid poking a strange animal she found a stick and stuck it into the man’s bare arm. She didn’t stab the man, just nudged him until he snorted himself awake. Had the man started to fully become a pig?

“Wha?” Kiles said groggily, “I’m not a pig anymore.” He glanced from side to side and Catalysta almost thought she saw a frown on his face like he was upset about his current species. She used Analyze.

Kiles: Class-less, level 5. Hit Points 125/125. Kiles is the son of a deceased adventurer. He rode on the coattails of his father’s adventures for the majority of his life. He lived peacefully as a layabout for several years until his father died in the Celestial Dungeon of Embodied Magic. The event led to the residents of Fasthaven attempting to keep all adventurers from entering the dungeon. This almost-vagrant has no class because he never chose a clear path, having both mage skills from his father and sword skills from his mother. He is a master of nothing.

Kiles finally noticed Catalysta standing near him and turned towards her. He opened his mouth to say something but before he could, a wave of flung water hit him in the face. He sputtered and shook droplets of a face that was slightly cleaner.

“Stand your filthy britches up, Kiles!” said Liliana fiercely, in a low volume to make her voice not carry. The woman was five foot nothing and had frizzy brown hair, with thin lips and a stick figure wrapped in a plain brown dress that fell to her mid-calf. To Catalysta, Liliana’seyes looked slightly too far apart and her nose was somewhat off center, but she seemed calm and assertive. She also had a short sword strapped to her back and a hunting bow over her shoulder with a quiver hooked to her thigh. Catalysta respected the woman’s fierceness.

“Was that--” Kiles started, but Liliana gave him a fierce look and Granden, who had been hiding a half grin, shushed him with a finger to his mouth.

“Was that necessary?” Kiles whispered, wiping his face with his shirt and only succeeding in smearing mud rather than getting his face wiped off. Liliana shoved a clean cloth towards him, which he accepted.

Before Catalysta could say anything, Granden pulled him up, dirt and all, “Kiles, there’s no time, and I needed you alert. Cast your lightning touch on Catalysta here as many times as you can.”

“You want me to hurt the one who turned me human?”

“No time for questions, just do it.”

Kiles dropped the cloth on the ground and stared at his hands, which began crackling with green arching energy. He looked at Catalysta and grabbed her shoulders. The green arching energy vanished immediately and Kiles stepped back, the apology in his eyes changing to awe and fear. The man’s mana bar flashed 58/72.

“How many points did you get?” asked Granden.

She glanced at her gauge, “Not enough to turn another person, I’m only at 64/380 and I need 200.”

Granden frowned and stared at Kiles again, “Can you channel it for longer?”

“Are you kidding? Do you know how long it’s been since he’s practiced? Let me,” Liliana stepped forward. Catalysta Analyzed her without thinking, which was good. It should be second nature for her to Analyze everything.

Liliana: Spellsword, level 10. Hitpoints 238/240. Liliana is the sister of Kiles. Unlike her brother she dutifully learned from both of her parents, though she rarely shows her skills and most people have no idea she has any talents. She is one of the reasons her brother is still alive.

Liliana drew her short-sword and pointed it at Catalysta. The sword glowed light blue and the Spellsword said, “Bolt.” A blue ball shot out of the tip of the sword and hit Cat in the chest. Or rather it disappeared just before it hit her in the chest, and her VPs went up by 20.

“You got six more of those in you?” asked Catalysta, as she noticed Liliana’s surprise. The woman probably thought her brother’s spell had just failed.

“Uh, sure.” She grabbed the hilt of her sword with both hands this time and closed her eyes. The glow of the sword intensified even more, radiating a blue mist around the blade. “Bolt times six.” These bolts were slower, but they all followed the same path to Cat’s chest as the previous ones and they all also disappeared. She saw Liliana’s mana bar flash red as it bottomed out. The small woman clutched her head and nearly dropped to her knees, but Granden stabilized her and looked at Cat questioningly.

“Yep, good to go.”

“Kiles, you get inside your house. Things out here might get dangerous. You to Liliana, you did great.”

Liliana took a deep breath, “I’m coming with you. I can help more.”

“Seems like a warrior to me,” Cat grinned, “More than mister sleepy over there.” Kiles looked down in shame.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Warrior?” asked Granden.

“How do you not know she’s a Spellsword?”

“Spellsword?” Granden stared at Liliana who was looking at Catalysta in shock.

“Um, if the sword and spell didn’t give it away, haven’t you guys been living in the same village?”

“Well yeah,” said Granden, “But most people don’t have an Analyze skill and she’s never talked much, let alone bring out weapons.”

“There’s been no reason to do so until now,” Liliana said. Color was returning to her face and she no longer looked to be in pain. Her mana regeneration must have alleviated her headache. “Brother, you get in that house and clean yourself up. And so help me, if you leave a mess in my house you will regret it!”

Kiles cringed and muttered, “I’ve been a pig for two days and all she can think about is how I might screw up her house.”

“Well you screw up everything you touch--”

“Oh stop,” said Catalysta, “We don’t have time for this. If you wanna come, then come.” She turned and made for the back door of the manor. Luckily, the gap between the manor house and Liliana’s house was small, because she had ceased being stealthy for the moment. She was impatient to get to the area she controlled so she could gain her levels at last. She didn’t even look behind her to see if Granden was following.

The back door to the manor swung outward without a sound and Cat stepped through the doorway, into the manor’s kitchen, immediately pulling up her character menu to see if the option to level up was available. Before she could do anything, a different message popped up before her, stopping her.

New Quest: Born, not Made. The Steward wishes to test you. He wants to see what you are capable of and has decided to give you a special quest. You must liberate the town without initiating your level up. You will receive a Divine Reward should you succeed. Do you wish to accept this quest? Yes/No

Catalysta didn’t know what a Divine Reward was, but she didn’t feel like she could decline it. “Yes.” Immediately, her character sheet with the level up button grayed out, no longer available. No going back now.

“Catalysta?” asked Granden from behind her.

“Call me Cat,” said Cat, preoccupied. “Aria?” The blue fuzzy light appeared from nowhere in front of her.

“Mistress Catalysta, you summoned me?”

“Yes, uh, it’s okay if these two come into the manor, and anyone else who is designated a resident of Fasthaven.”

“Affirmative, Mistress. I will disable the security system for the villagers of Fasthaven. Will there be anything else?”

“No, not at this time.” Aria blinked out and Cat moved to the side, allowing both Granden and Liliana into the house. “I suppose the two of you know your way around this place better than me. You know where the best place to set up is?”

Granden nodded and he darted through the kitchen, disappearing through the open inner doorway. Liliana followed close behind and Cat had to move fast to keep up. She soon found herself on the third floor of the building after going up a winding staircase. The wide sitting room was well lit with wide and tall windows lining the front wall. A perfect spot to rain damage down on the middle of the inner Chateau.

Granden pointed out the window to the house opposite the manor and next to the inn on the other side, “That’s Chitany and Hichard’s house. He’s the last one of us that was--’

“Pigified?”

“You are strange,” said Liliana.

“Yes,” said Granden, a strange look on his face.

Catalysta moved to the table that sat in the middle of the room. It was sturdy with intricate carvings in the wood that seemed to be telling a story, but she didn’t have time to decipher it. She put her hand on the table and pulled up her map. All the villagers she had identified were present on the map, along with the four remaining Agents of Shadow. Her allies glowed blue. The red dots of the enemies seemed to be in different spots, though all were still inside of the inn. When she selected one of the blue dots she could reread the original message she received upon analyzing them, but she still knew much less about her opponents. It appeared that Nerry and Randor made it to Bannor’s house. Granden nodded stoically seeing where his father was.

“Alright,” said Cat, “I’m going back out there around here.” She drew a line with a finger on the opposite hand that opened the map, making a path to Chitany and Hichard’s house. “Once I’ve got him back into a human, I’ll open the door to let you know it’s done. Hopefully those four will stay in the inn until I’m done.”

“What if they don’t?” asked Liliana.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” said Cat, considering. She may still be at level one, but even at level one her skills made her formidable and now she had a better grasp on this world. But most of all she had allies. “I’ll definitely need some help if they all come at me at once. Plus I don’t know how strong each one is, so let’s hope we don’t have to cross that bridge.”

“And how do you plan on getting them out in the open?” Granden said.

“Easy,” said Cat, “I’ll yell for them to come out from the opening of the house and Bannor’s fence. Wouldn’t want them to have the same idea we had and get sniped from the inn’s windows.

Granden grunted, “Well it’s not the best plan I’ve ever heard, but I don’t have a better one.”

“Good. Guess I’ll be off then,” Cat said before retracing her steps through the manor house and back out the door. Before she left the room, she heard Liliana wish her luck.

Soon she was back outside. Alone. She preferred that, actually. By herself, she didn’t have to worry about someone else giving her away while she snuck around, not that she was a master with a level 1 Sneak. It was just one less thing to worry about while she attempted to get to her goal, through probably the most dangerous area she had yet to go through: the enemies back yard.

The building adjacent to the manor house was actually a multi-level stable with about thirty stalls on the bottom floor. Catalysta liked horses and such but she wasn’t an expert on them. It looked like there were more stalls on the second and third floor and she wondered how they’d get a horse above the ground floor. But it wasn’t like she was going through the building, so she didn’t know if there was an elevator in there or something. There were piles of hay behind the stables, not hay bales, stacks. And the smell of manure was strong. Not overpowering, as it had likely only been a couple days since the guy taking care of the animals had been turned into a pig, but Catalysta marveled at the realness.

One of the horses poked its head through the opening in the back of its stall and whickered at her. It was a handsome Dun color with soft brown eyes.

Horse. Common animal. Common Breed. Level 3. Hitpoints 20/20. Owned by Gaeric Lovestohurt. Horses are the most plentiful mount on Gamdrea. There are several types of Breeds, some more rare than others. Some horses are bred for endurance, some strength, some for war. This particular creature has very little value and has been mistreated by its owner. It has not been named. This beast is available to be tamed. Relationship to this beast: Neutral.

Catalysta couldn’t help herself. With the description, she felt bad for the animal. What kind of name was ‘Lovestohurt.’ That just screamed sociopath. She spied a feed bag hanging above an open sack just sitting slumped against the back wall. She stuck her hand in the bag and found oats. She knew from when she visited her great aunt’s farm that horses loved those--not as much as apples, but a treat was a treat. She grabbed a handful and held it out to the horse, who snuffled her hand and lipped the oats into its mouth without even coming close to biting her.

Your relationship to this common horse has increased to friendship. It is more likely to come to you if you call and when you ride it, it will be more likely to heed your commands.

Would taming all animals be that easy? Or had it been the animal’s previous mistreatment? From her position she could see that five other stalls had horses boarded, all appeared to be of common variety as well, except for the stall closest to the inn, which was coal black and seemed to give off a glow that fuzzed the air around it when it moved.

Horse. Common Animal. Epic breed: Midnight Strider. Level 12. Hitpoints 85/85. Owned by Beastmage. This magical creature has been well cared for. It wants for nothing, though its maintenance has been somewhat lacking lately. Of the breeds of horses on Gamdrea, this is one of the rarest. It is swift on the ground but even faster when ridden at night, as it sprouts wings in the moonlight. The Beastmage has named this creature Gloomwing. You are not currently able to tame this beast. Relationship to this beast: mild suspicion.

The mount was stunningly beautiful, but Catalysta didn’t go anywhere near it. She was worried that its mild suspicion would make it cause a ruckus. Beyond the horses there were also cows in some of the stalls, which Catalysta thought was strange.

Cow. Common Animal. Rare breed: Alpha Milker. This milk cow is one of the animals that the Fasthaven Chateau uses as a source of income. Alpha Milkers produce milk that acts like health potions; the quality has levels just like health potions do.

Those would be useful in the future. Catalysta wondered if the idiots in the inn knew about the cows. Surely other Dreamwalkers would be able to inspect the cows too. But then, they weren’t here for cows AND they could use magic, so healing milk probably wasn’t something they cared about. But now that she’d analyzed it, she would know how many there were. She could revisit this windfall when she was done with the Agents of Shadow. She refused to doubt her ability to win this fight.

She made it past the rest of the stalls without any of the horses or cows distracting her, but had to dive behind a haystack that sat nearest the back door of the inn. She guessed the door led into the kitchen or pantry, as that’s where the back entryway into the manor house led. A woman, with the hem of her dress two inches deep in grime, stomped down the back steps towards the pig pen and dumped a bucket of scraps into the trough, before stomping back into the inn. Catalysta breathed a sigh of relief as she listened to the grunting of the farm animals.

This pig pen was the most well kept that Catalysta had seen, as was the enclosed chicken coop opposite it. There were ten pigs in the pen, nine of which were greedily fighting each other for the slop they had been fed. All except one, which was suspiciously spotless. It was weird how the pig looked almost dainty as it stood on the only space in the pen that had a small swathe of clean grass.

Strange Pig. There is something quite off about this pig.

New Quest Discovered: Spotting the Spotless. Resolve this poor creature’s troubles. Accept Quest: Yes/No

Why not? Catalysta agreed to the quest, but it would have to wait. She would likely need to use Void Touch on it, but her current VPs were already slated for the man Hichard. But she’d return as soon as possible. For her completionist sake she also analyzed the other pigs.

Pig. Common animal. Pigs are plentiful in Gamdrea. They are used as a food source and don’t really have any other purpose when they aren’t involved with quests. Hitpoints 20/20.

Catalysta figured she’d have to toggle these common animals off her map in the future, but she knew that having them available to see on her map might be useful in the future. Maybe.

She listened hard, trying to hear anything over the greedy pigs, but she heard nothing. She put her hand on the ground and her map popped up. The area of the inn showed up with the red dots seemingly looking out the front of the inn. The clean pig was a green dot. The blip of the woman didn’t show up anywhere, but Cat hadn’t had time to analyze her--or line of sight, which was necessary to get Analyze to work. But, the woman was supposed to be an ally, so if she was seen by her, it shouldn’t matter. With that information, she pulled her hand from the ground and, rising, sprinted through the inn’s backyard.

The inn’s length was approximately two thirds of the entire back wall of the Chateau, and while the inn had several balconies on the upper levels so that guests could look out at the view behind the inn and above the wall, the only windows and doors on the back side were near the kitchen and pantry. And then of course there was what Catalysta could only assume was the bathroom--by the smell--which she only had to briefly endure as she ran by it. Outhouses, six of them, were built right up next to the Chateau wall opposite the back of the inn. Well worn paths lead to the buildings. She hadn’t seen anything like that in the other residences. The grass in the back was well kept and looked like it had been trimmed down. Maybe the animals had eaten it down, because Catalysta doubted they had a lawn mower in this fantasy world.

Round the corner she hugged the wall of the residence she knew was Hichard and Chitany’s. Unlike when she snuck past the open gate, her heart beat steadily. It was slightly elevated from the sprint, but she was growing a lot more confident--maybe too confident. She looked back around the corner. Her rush through the backyard had seemingly upset the chickens even though they were safely inside their coop. The inn’s backdoor was opening again, but Cat didn’t wait to see who emerged, and pulled back to stare at the house’s back wall. As with all the other buildings there was a little stoop leading to a pin, but this one had no pig in it. Instead there were two goats.

Goat. Common animal. Common breed. Goats are numerous on Gamdrea and are often used for various reasons, including milk, meat, yard cleaning, trash disposal, and humor. Hitpoints 15/15.

A couple windows framed the back door, which was fortunate, as the back door seemed to be barricaded shut for some reason. Catalysta could plainly see that there was some wood wedged under the door to prevent it from opening and there was a pile of rubbish situated so it would stop or at least trip up anyone who did manage to get the door open. Inconvenient. Inconvenient for those living here and inconvenient for her if she needed to make a getaway. At least there were the windows. And where was the Hichard pig?

Sighing, Catalysta moved to the nearest window, which was open, soft lilac curtains fluttering in the slight breeze that Cat hadn’t even noticed. The window sat at about chest height, just perfect to make getting through the window awkward. She grabbed the lip, bent her knees, and jumped, pulling herself over the sill, sort of somersaulting clumsily into a dimly lit room. She made a thud as she landed on her back on top of a sack and a cloud of white dust puffed up around her.

“Oof,” she grunted in discomfort, the shaft of the mace digging into her back. And then there were quick footsteps on wooden floors and the pantry door swung open. With the new light source she could now see the woman who had to be Chitany. If Granden was a Disney prince, this lady was a Disney princess with big wide blue eyes and silky white blonde hair that hung in a wide braid down her back, wisps of hair sticking out here and there. Her beauty was spoiled, however, with the dark circles under those eyes, as well as the fear etched onto her face.

“Who are you?” Chitany whispered. Catalysta got to her feet dusting the flour off--well the flour she could see anyway.

Chitany: Housewife/Milkmaid, level 8. Hitpoints: 150/180. This diamond in the roth beauty fell in love with an unlikely candidate. They moved to Fasthaven when an opening for a stablemaster was advertised in the city of Lebia. Wherever she goes Chitany gains unwanted admirers and this can sometimes cause her and her husband problems.

“I’m Catalysta,” she said, “and I’m here to help. Where’s Hichard?”

“How do you--no, you can’t be here right now. He’s coming!”

“Where’s Hichard, there’s no time.”

“No, no, no,” the woman put her dainty hands on her face and tears began to form at the corners of her eyes, “No, no, he’s coming.”

“Chitany, Granden sent me to help. Where is Hichard?”

“No, he, he’s upstairs, with the children, but--” A sudden loud and rapid knock sounded at the door. “It’s him. No, no, no no!” She rushed out of the pantry before Catalysta could stop her and went towards the front door. The woman was hysterical and Cat couldn’t blame her if this ‘he’ was the one Nerry told her about. She followed Chitany, pulling her mace from her back, and soon found herself in the common area of the house as the front door banged open.

“Honey, I’m home!” shouted a jock-type as he entered a house that was not his own. The man appeared to be in his mid twenties, short curly hair, wide shoulders, big arms, and thick muscled legs. He was basically wearing animal hides, not much in the way of armor. Perhaps he didn’t think he would need it. He was attractive until you looked at his eyes, which were full of malice. He closed the door behind him and grinned wickedly.

“What have we here? A little bird we missed the first time through? Delightful. Another pretty toy to play with.” The man touched a red circle pendant on his chest that Catalysta hadn’t even noticed, and said “Hold Persons.” Chitany froze mid step, tears now streaming freely down her cheeks. Per normal, the spell had no effect on Catalysta, but she didn’t move. Perhaps if this guy wasn’t a mage he wouldn’t notice the ineffectiveness of his hold spell. Hopefully he didn’t have his battle log up and active. The evil man grinned at her, “Wouldn’t want you trying to run away little level one. I’ll get to you in a moment.”

Gaeric Lovestohurt, Barbarian, Level 17, Agent of Shadow, Dreamwalker. Alignment: Chaotic Evil. This scum of earth uses Gamdrea as a personal playplace to commit acts of atrocity that would get him institutionalized in his own world. Who knows maybe he has done similar things there and had just not been caught. He was the perfect candidate for the Steward known as Roon from the moment he touched the choosing stone. Hitpoints 1200/1200.

Catalysta wanted to vomit. She could only imagine what Chitany had gone through, and if the knife in her gut had been any indication, whatever this monster in human flesh did to her, she would feel it in its entirety. IF she allowed it.

The room really wasn’t very big and once he turned to Chitany and was within a few steps of her, he was also within a few steps of Catalysta. With his back to her.

Catalysta moved. She grasped her mace with both hands, took a quick step forward and swung the mace like a bat. At the last moment Gaeric turned his head back to glance back at her and rather than hitting the back of his head, the blunt force of the weapon collided with his jaw. The ridges split his cheek and Cat saw a tooth fly out towards Chitany. The audible crack from the impact seemed to echo through the room as the force of the blow spun Gaeric on his feet before he fell to the ground.

The Stun skill has activated. You have stunned Gaeric.

A two minute timer appeared above Gaeric, but his hit point bar flashed and Catalysta saw that she had only taken 25 health from his massive health pool.

Gaeric couldn’t move his body, but he could still speak. With effort, he said, “Bitch. You just wait til this time ends. First I’ll deal with you and then the lamb chop over there. And then I’m going to pay a visit to the two kiddos up stairs. Teach you toys to fight back.”

As Catalysta saw the sicko smile, his teeth stained with his own blood, it was likely she was struck by a bolt from the heavens. She lost all control of her body as her mace began to glow a blinding white light and she moved around the man’s supine body until she was at his legs. She kicked his leg to the side, making her target much easier to hit. She moved between his legs, moving mechanically, still not in control of her movements, but not fighting them either.

“What--what are you doing?” There was fear in the man’s eyes as he glanced between the now blinding mace and the stun timer that was reading that he was still stunned for a minute and a half.

Catalysta did not reply as the energy in the mace started to mildly burn her hands, the warmth spreading down her arms as she raised the weapon above her head and brought it down hard, slamming it into Gaeric’s groin. The sound Gaeric made at his manhood being crushed was almost inhuman, but Catalysta felt no sympathy for him; she was a little scared that she wasn’t in control of her own body, but had she wanted to resist she probably would have been able to rest control of her actions back. He was stunned, he couldn’t even move to protect himself, but his hit points only decreased by thirty percent. But Catalysta didn’t see this as the skill that was activated was a barrage that had four hits. On the second hit she felt something pop dully and fluid began to leak onto the floor, on the third, the hit destroyed his pelvis. And on the fourth he finally expired--in excruciating pain.

You have killed Gaeric Lovestohurt and sent him for respawn. He will not be able to return to Gamdrea until his next sleep cycle. He will not remember the events of his time in Gamdrea today. You have gained a total of 2500 exp.

As the attack ended, Catalysta’s mace dissolved into ash. She heard a harp and felt a cooling sensation as she received experience and levels, but this was immediately followed by a moment of shooting pins and needles throughout her entire body. Her health bar dipped to twenty-five percent. A stun timer appeared above her head, saying she was stunned for five minutes, and a glowing bag of loot hung suspended in the air where Gaeric’s corpse had disappeared for a moment and then shot off. Cat couldn’t see where the loot had gone. Her notification exclamation mark pulsed at her insistently. It had been there for a while, but with its intensity, Catalysta finally paid attention to it.

With Gaeric’s demise, Chitany was released, “Thank you, but he’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Not if I can help it,” Cat said through gritted teeth, still unable to move. “Can you get your husband down here? I need to turn him back into a human before the three remaining enemies come.” Chitany’s eyes widened and she nodded briskly before rushing up the stairs.

Catalysta took this moment to review the updates flashing at her.

The skill Sneak has increased in level.

The skill Analyze has increased in level.

You have learned the skill Dash.

You have learned the skill Sneak Attack.

The Skill Analyze has increased in level.

You have reached VOID level 10.

You have unlocked the passive ability Void Vortex. This ability negates magical area of attack effects up to fifteen feet of your person. At your current level you have no control over what magic is absorbed. This may change as the skill levels.

You have stunned an enemy more than fifteen levels above you. Stun has gained five levels.

You have activated the skill Celestial Barrage. This skill may only be used by the Celestial Paladin class and you will suffer severe debuffs. Because this is your first time doing so and you were not controlling your body when it happened the consequences will be reduced. The skill will remain part of your repertoire, however, should you use it again without obtaining the Celestial Paladin class the effects will be ten times worse for every skill activation and the effects will be exponential. You have opened the path of the Celestial Paladin class. All preceding paths are open to you as well. To view your possible class choices, travel to a Steward’s Temple to the Creator.

Congratulations you are the first Dreamwalker to open the first tier of Paladin classes. Should you choose this class you will get a five percent increase to damage dealt against all monsters.

Congratulations you are the first Dreamwalker to open the second tier and final Paladin class, should you choose this class you will get a ten percent increase to damage dealth against all opponents.

You have gained the title: Run before you can walk.

You have inflicted an incurable wound on Gaeric Lovestohurt. This incurable wound is called Impotent. Though he will not remember the events of today’s time in Gamdrea, he will now be Impotent in everything he does. Who knows, perhaps this effect will transfer with him back to his own world. You have robbed Roon of one of his rising stars, he just doesn’t know it yet.

You have gained the title: Punisher.

You have earned enough experience to reach level 5.

You have earned enough experience to reach level 6.

A loud clomping came from upstairs and Catalysta looked away from her notifications to see a large pig waddling and stumbling down the stairs. The boar missed a step and tumbled down the stairs, rolling like a barrel until he reached the bottom floor. It would have been comical if not for the enemies that were likely gathering outside. Afterall, Gaeric Lovestohurt was probably in a group with the others. Catalysta assumed that because, even though she’d never been in a group in Gamdrea, groups were a staple of MMORPGs.

Grunting, the pig popped up and began to snuffle at Catalysta’s boots. Chitany did not reappear, but that was okay. Cat hoped she was upstairs taking care of her children.

“I’m on a stun timer, Hichard. I have,” she glanced at the numbers, “about two and a half minutes left. Now listen. Once I turn you back, you get back upstairs. If you have a ranged attack you can join in the ambush, but as soon as I open your front door, that’s the signal for the others that I’m going to call out the three that are left--that is, if they aren’t waiting for me out there already.” Hichard the pig snorted in understanding, and they waited for the stun to time out.

With thirty seconds left, a voice shouted from outside.

“Surely whoever did it isn’t still inside the house,” said a gruff voice. These guys were idiots. They had really just given up their strategic advantage of being inside that big house. But then, it wasn’t like their actions up to that point had been wise in the first place. Was it arrogance rather than stupidity? It didn’t matter. She could use either against them.

“Right. You want to tell the Beastmage we didn’t check?”

Catalysta watched the seconds fall to zero as the first voice continued, “Get on in there then, and check. If the woman hasn’t fled, maybe she can give us some answers.”

The second voice chuckled, “And maybe she can give us something else too.”

“Wait. What if they are still in there? Whoever it is was able to take out Gaeric after all,” the first voice again.

“Psh, he’s lucky he wasn’t taken out before. Always coming here alone to play--I’m surprised the women haven’t ganged up on him before.”

Cat reached out to the pig and used her Void Touch, and with her other hand she pulled out one of her potions, chugging it in the same moment that she turned Hichard back into a human.

The horizontal wooden door knob began to scrape as it started to turn vertical and Catalysta pulled her dagger--she wasn’t thrilled about the short reach she’d have, but what other option was there? In the moment she motioned Hichard to hide on the other side of the door she took in his form and his information. Hichard was about three inches shorter than his gorgeous wife and had a long scar running down the left side of his face. He had bulging muscles on his upper body, from long hours working with the cows and horses of the Chateau. He was not the type of man, Catalysta had expected to be paired with the beauty that was Chitany.

Hichard: Village Stablemaster, Level 10. Hitpoints: 250/250. Hichard is the unlikely husband of the beauty Chitany. They grew up together and he would do anything for her, including attacking her torturer while in pig form. She locked him in a room upstairs to prevent him from getting killed as he tried to defend her. He is not a fighter, but with his strength he’d make a good one.

The door creaked open slowly and a steel sword led the way as another Dreamwalker cautiously entered. Catalysta didn’t attempt to hide, she just stood there in plain sight as the melee fighter entered the room. A moment of silence occurred as the two just stared at each other.

Bigolde Uwantsome: Warrior, level 9. Underling of the Agent of Shadow, Dreamwalker. Alignment: Neutral, leaning evil. This underling is being tested to join the ranks of Shadow. He’s a small fry of no importance. Hit Points 595/595.

The warrior took another step forward as he shouted, “Red, there is someone in her, but it’s just a level one--” In one swift move, Hichard slammed the front door shut behind Bigolde and wrapped his tree-trunk arms around the man, pinning his arms to his sides. Bigolde struggled in Hichard grasp, trying to get his sword at an angle to cut his attacker. If the warrior flicked his wrist a certain way he might be able to adjust the angle of his blade to get at Hichard. Catalysta wasn’t about to let that happen.

Despite the short reach of her dagger versus the longsword, she didn’t hesitate. Catalysta dashed forward, first using her blade to slam the sword tip to the ground, trapping it there by putting her foot on the flat side of the blade. Then without hesitation she slashed the dagger across Bigolde’s throat. She felt the realness of it, the drag as the weapon cut through soft flesh, as she had felt the flesh smash when she had killed Gaeric. As with the others, she reminded herself that this was a game and she wasn’t really killing anyone and that these guys would do the same to her--maybe even worse--if they got the chance.

Blood poured out of the neck wound, slicking Hichard’s arms and he dropped the soon to be dead Bigolde, a look of disgust on his face. He was not directing it at Catalysta, but at the man that was bleeding out on his floor. It was then that the front door exploded with a fireball, shattering the wood and sending burning splinters everywhere. Hichard took the brunt of the force of the explosion and hurtled past Catalysta into the meager furniture of the family room. His back was peppered with fragments of wood and his health bar flashed red, but he had over half left, so he’d be fine for the moment. A piece of wood buried itself in Bigolde’s choking and gasping form, taking him closer to death. Catalysta got hit as well with several chunks of wood, taking her already low health down by 5. As soon as the wood hit her, the residual flames from the magic attack went out. Her Void Point gauge went up by a few points.

Catalysta could see the mage outside through the busted door frame where a piece of it still hung, barely attached at the hinge. She strode forward, yanking the piece of wood out of Bigolde as she passed. The action increased his bleed rate and before she got through the busted door to rush the mage in front of her a message flashed. She didn’t see it but the loot bag from Bigolde flew away behind her.

You have killed Biglode Uwantsome and sent him for respawn. He will not be able to return to Gamdrea until his next sleep cycle. He will not remember the events of his time in Gamdrea today. You have gained 1000 exp.

Two left.

“Hichard, you good?”

“Aye,” he rasped.

“Then get up there to your wife and kids. Bar the door if you can. Feel free to attack the enemy from above.” With that, Catalysta stalked forward as the mage in front of her prepared another attack spell. He hadn’t noticed that the magical flames had gotten snuffed out when they touched his opponent.

Redrick Quickspell: Fire Mage, level 9, underling of the Agent of Shadow, Dreamwalker. Alignment: Neutral leaning evil. This underling is being tested to join the ranks of Shadow. He’s a small fry of no importance. Hit Points 400/400.

Catalysta lost even more respect for the invaders of Fasthaven. This was another low level--well low level compared to Gaeric--normally the closer you got to the boss the higher the levels. These enemies were ill-prepared and arrogant, and soon only the Beastmage would remain.

With each step, Catalysta’s momentum increased. If any other person had attacked Redrick this way they would have been toast. True to his name, Redrick sent a Firelance shrieking at Cat and the stupid girl didn’t even try to dodge. He got over his shock when it disappeared quickly though and fired off Fireline, which was a channeled spell that connected the mage’s hands and the target with a line of continuously searing flames. In an instant, Redrick’s mana dropped to zero. The mage grabbed his head in agony and scrunched his eyes tight against the pain of his mana bottoming out. Two arrows flowered from the mage’s back, halving his hit points, but it was like he didn’t even notice the wound with the pain in his skull. But, the headache that exploded in the center of his skull ended quickly when Catalysta shoved her dagger into one of his eye sockets. PVP sure was different in this game: much more gorey, much more real, much more painful. She really didn’t like it and she hoped her future adventures would be filled with less of it.

You have killed Redrick Quickspell and sent him for respawn. He will not be able to return to Gamdrea until his next sleep cycle. He will not remember the events of his time in Gamdrea today. You have gained a total of 1000 exp.

A loot bag appeared above where Redrick’s body vanished. This time Catalysta saw the loot bag zip away towards and then enter the Manor house. Good, she would have even more loot waiting for when she talked with Aria again. And then there was one.

As if the thought summoned him, a red mist crept out of the open front door of the inn. Reaching tendrils stretched forth in all directions as the spell sought a victim. Rather than run, which is what anyone without the Void ability would do, Catalysta went toward the red fog and touched it. With Void Vortex active, rather than the mist converging on her as a target, it got sucked in from that point of contact and vanished. She felt a very pleasant cooling sensation as her Void Gauge filled, reset and expanded. That spell must have cost the Beastmage an enormous amount of energy.

“Impossible!” screamed the Beastmage from the doorway of the inn. This time he was able to see his red mist vanish from around his target without his desired outcome occurring. At Bannor’s house, the mist had vanished but he had assumed it was because there was no target. That was how the spell was supposed to work, except this time he had poured more mana into it to cover a wider distance.

“Improbable,” Catalysta quipped sarcastically. She could just barely make him out in the shadows of the doorway.

Beastmage: level 25. Boss Enemy. This is a native of Gamdrea, a follower of Roon, and an Agent of Shadow. He has the Legendary ability Beastmorph. Like polymorph but cannot be resisted unless the target’s ability directly opposes mana and is of a higher grade. He came to Fasthaven with the charge of finding a Divine dungeon for Roon’s champion to claim and conquer. Hitpoints: 5,000. Weakness to physical attack when not buffed. Resistant to magic attacks (all forms). May respond erratically to psychological attacks. Given name: Melmin.

Well the weakness thing was new. It was likely due to her recent level ups, or perhaps Gamdrea was treating the Beast mage as a mob rather than a person.

“Melmin? What kind of a name is Melmin?” She whispered it, but the person in question must have heard because Catalysta could practically feel the rage emanating off the Beastmage. He stomped out of the inn and down its front steps, a shiny glimmer of a magic barrier encapsulating him, and tossed red bolt after red bolt directly at Catalysta. Perhaps he thought that a targeted attack would be more effective than an AOE. He was wrong. All the while, Cat watched his mana bar flash and get smaller with each attack. This was playing out beautifully for her as he closed in; he didn’t even have a weapon drawn that she could see and with each outraged attack he pushed her Void ability closer to a new level.

When he was only a few feet from her, out of spells and out of reason, he reached out and attempted to slap her. The incredulousness of the move did not shock Catalysta, as she was looking for a non-magical attack. It was the only logical course of action the Beastmage could take--that she knew of--to cause her damage. She easily intercepted the blow with her dagger, and the Beastmage would have impaled his hand on the blade if not for his active protection spell. As it was, the boss’ hand just bounced off the blade uninjured. If she removed that buff, he would not only be out of mana to use on her allies, but he would be vulnerable to them as well.

The Beastmage reared back for another go at Cat, but this time she deftly dodged moving in close to his side and used Void touch on him. She followed the skill with a jab of her dagger into his side below his ribs to confirm he was vulnerable. Her attack took a whopping 2 hitpoints away from his massive pool of health. Obviously, a level one wasn’t much of a threat to a level twenty-five--at least not if she wasn’t hitting a vital spot. But then, she wasn’t alone and her allies weren’t level one.

The Beastmage didn’t even flinch at the two hitpoints that vanished, just grabbed at her, swiping at empty air as she moved faster than him. And then two arrows hit him in the back and he whirled around in the direction of the manor house, only to be hit with another arrow from Hichard’s upper story window. Everyone knew he was out of mana, or maybe they had guessed, Catalysta didn’t know what all they could see that she could or couldn’t.

The Beastmage, surrounded on all sides, decided that since Catalysta was the closest target, he should still go after her. It was almost as if he turned into a zombie as he lunged toward Catalysta once again. She dove to the side, somersaulting into a standing position, and turned to see a glowing green crossbow bolt slam into the Beastmage’s chest. She glanced at the direction it came from and saw Bannor standing in front of his house, loading a second bolt, covered with a strange glowing slime. The initial bolt had succeeded in giving the boss a damage over time debuff from poison and with the other injuries, Melmin the Beastmage’s health was falling fast. Catalysta needed to get in some more damage; this kill would give her a lot of experience points. She raised her dagger, ready to pounce on the barely hanging on enemy, but before she could even take another step in his direction, another crossbow bolt protruded from his eye.

The sudden end to the battle took all the wind out of Cat’s sails as she stared at the Beastmage’s corpse and his floating loot bag. All that lost experience.

Beastmage Melmin has died. You receive 3,000 experience for your part in his death. Though you did not cause much damage, you made it possible for others to do so. Your Quests have been updated.