Chapter three

Cleaning up and going out

“Are there any other changes I should be aware of?” I asked Sebastian.  I was eager to find out what else had changed.  Suddenly my stomach let me know it wanted to be fed by growling at me.  Sebastian cocked his head to the side and asked, “Do you have a beast in there because something does not sound happy.”  I shrugged and said, “I am hungry, I was really hoping for a Gluzzie breakfast.”

Sebastian brightened up and said, “I know of a great place on the fourth tier, a little pub that is open day and night, they have entertainment during the evening and serve breakfast all day.  The food is pretty good, and it is a neutral place.  It overlooks the ocean where the cable cars used to load to take visitors to the abandoned Island palace.”

“The food sounds great, but tell me more about these cable cars and this abandoned island?”  I was hungry, but this sounded pretty interesting. I had not heard of cable cars or an abandoned island before now.  There was so much of the city that I did not know about.  It was a huge multi-tiered city build on a mountain that was next to the ocean.  I had barely explored the second tier let alone the whole city.

Looking at me and then down at himself Sebastian sighed and then said, “Before we go anywhere we must get cleaned up.  I look a mess and well, you look terrible dressed in those cheap rags that all the visitors show up in.  I know just the spot to get some clean cloth.  By the way, what class are you?”

I smiled it was nice to see the old Sebastian back.  I knew that by the time he was done with the shopping I would look good and be presentable.  He had great fashion sense and a knack for bringing out the best look in people.  I knew that by the time we ate I would be looking like a well to do citizen.

“I am thinking of a fighter healer hybrid but have not decided yet.  A lot depends on the quests I can do and what spells and abilities I find.”  I was interrupted my spiel when suddenly my stomach began to rumble, this time, it did not growl, it roared in displeasure and began to beat my insides, it was time to get some food.

“Lay on MacDuff,” I said as we made our way back to the wall.  Suddenly I frowned as I thought of the last time I had quoted Shakespeare.  Archon and I had been walking together; we were heading up to the Temple mount.  Turning to Sebastian I asked him, “What has happened to the Old Bastards, and to Archon?  He betrayed me at the end.  He was in collusion with the Unknown God.”  The anger in my voice hung in the air. 

“That weasel, he showed up at the Dragons Den later that evening with a tale of woe.  According to him, he tried to help you but the Unknown God and you both disappeared before he could do anything.  Ama tossed him out, she said he was lying."  Sebastian sounded irritated.  I spoke up and said, “That prick did not try to help; he jumped up and accused me in front of everyone of being a Demon.  He was clearly following a script between Him and the Unknown God.  If he had not spoken up I might have never been killed by the Unknown God.”

Sebastian looked startled and asked, “You were killed by the Unknown God.  What the hell happened, all we heard was that you had banished the Gods and then you portalled out?”  Taking a breath I decided to tell Sebastian everything, including about the real world.  If I described it as a realm of non-magic I would not have to explain that this realm we were in was a game.

Making our way through the hidden gate we slowly walked up through the city as I explained everything to Sebastian, after I was done I waited for him to speak.  Turning to me he asked, “This Rebecca mortal, do you love her?”  It was a damn good question and went right to the heart of the matter.  Looking at him I slowly nodded and said, “Yes I do, but it is not the same emotion as I feel for Ama.  Rebecca and I, we are like old friends who are intimate with each other.  We enjoyed the pleasures of the flesh together but her heart is for the lost and abandoned children.”

Nodding his head Sebastian spoke, “She sounds like an honorable woman, you are lucky to have such a friend.” I nodded, he was right I was extremely lucky, and I knew it.  Helping her to set up the summer camp in Nebraska was the least I could do for her.   I would be giving her a call soon to see how things were going at the camp.   One of the modifications I had put into my VRP was the ability to access a PIM and contact the outside world while being Ingame.  

It was not Twink and her analytical Google glasses personality but it helped.  Thinking of that, I opened up the Personal Information Manager software and began the Integration process to the Ingame Interface.  Strictly illegal but then my whole presence Ingame was illegal.  I was a Ghost in the Machine, to quote the title of an old movie that I liked. The PIM would allow me to use my Ingame Interface functions to the fullest.  

It would also bring up a HUD when I selected a target, then it would display health and mana along with energy and any other detectable attributes the player had.  It would also warn me of incoming attacks and their class and strength.  The greatest strength of the PIM was the fact it actively scanned the surroundings around me for stealthed or hidden players or NPC. This scan had a range of about 60 meters.  These mods might seem a little OP on the surface, but this was not a game to me, this was my life.  I would do anything to give me an advantage and adding the mods to the Interface was the least of what I had planned.

We soon arrived at a small tailor's shop and upon entering I was taken in the back room for a fitting by the owner’s daughter; she was a blond girl, human with an impressive figure and an impish grin.  “My name is Nadia, and I want to take your measurements.”  I could see where she was staring as she said this and I realized that the link between Ama and I was even stronger now that I was back Ingame.

I was radiating a raw sensuality that could not be smelled or touched but women could sure feel it.  I would have to be careful.  I joked with Nadia as she measured me and if she took a little longer than was needed to measure my inner thigh that was all right with me.  Near the end, she stood behind me and wrapped the tape around my waist and then pressed her breasts against my back and stood there for a few minutes.  I finally spoke and gently reminded her that I was here to be measured and fitted for some clothing.  

Looking not the least embarrassed Nadia nodded and then wrote some info on a piece of paper, then ripping it in half she gave me part of the paper and then went back into the shop proper.  Glancing at the paper I saw that it was a note stating that she would be walking in the Summer Cherry Park at Eight bells if I wanted to join her.

I smiled to myself, I would love to have joined her in the park, but I had other things to do.  There was a knock on the door and suddenly a small gnome poked his head in and spoke, “Widdle here, I have brought you a few items to try off the rack, they should fit based on your measurements.”  Thanking him I put the items on the bench and undressed.

I stared at my body, it was lean with every muscle outlined, I had auburn eyes with large irises which were not black as normal but filled with a flickering yellow light.  Looking closer I saw that fires burned within my eyes, it was not noticeable unless someone stared straight at them.  They looked a little unique from a distance of a foot or more but staring at them up close felt strangely uncomfortable.

I noted that my arms no longer had the visible tats on them, the roses and thorns were gone.   When the Unknown God had removed the swords I had witnessed wounds on his hands.  I suspected he had pulled up the flowers and thorns that had entangled his hands when he removed the swords.  I could not know for sure what had happened, I did not know how could the living flowers be part of a tattoo on a person anyway.

Glancing at my face I saw that the Demonic mark had faded, it was not really visible unless you looked at it and then it had the coloration of an old scar.  The Runic symbols that had once circled my upper body on both my back and chest were now also almost gone.  The seemed to be even more faded than before and on a hunch, I grabbed a quill and paper and quickly copied all the remaining Symbols I could see.  Once I had them written down I relaxed.  I suspected that they would be gone soon.

I then looked down at the rest of my body, it was clear that Nadia would have enjoyed taking all my measurements; I was somewhat larger than I had been before.    Looking up at my face I said to myself, “Well, you win some and you lose some.”  Then I began to whistle as I tried on the outfits.  They were all in the colors I favored, black with a silver gray trim. Wearing the most comfortable of the outfits I left the fitting room and entered the main shop.

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Sebastian looked great in his human form; he was well dressed and looked like a little dandy peacock on display.  He looked at me and then smiled, “You certainly clean up well,” he said with a grin.  “I think we are ready to go and break our fast”.  Reaching into his pouch he pulled out a couple of gold coins and tossed them on the counter.  Opening the door he said, “After you my prince.”

As we walked side by side down the street I asked him about the demonic mark on my cheek and why it was fading.  He explained that I could make it disappear completely or have it look like a fresh tattoo.  This was interesting to me and I asked him how.  Sebastian looked at me and then pointed to a bench along the side of the street. 

As we sat, he gently lifted his hand and rested it on the back of my neck, “This should not hurt at all,” he whispered, then speaking softly in Demonic he uttered three of four words, it was hard to tell as they ran together.  Suddenly there was a hot flash that traveled to what felt like the left front and the left rear on the side of my brain.  The Ding startled me when it sounded and a new window opened on my Interface.

New ability learned

You have mastered the ability of metamorphic change

You can now shift your body from human to demon

Be warned the transformation will allow others to see you as a Demon

I will be a monkey’s uncle I thought as I took it in; I could change into a demon form.  Sebastian interrupted my thoughts with a cough and said, “Just so you are aware, you will not be able to change into a Demon form without Demonic blood.  You should be able to change a few things, like the Demonic mark on your cheek, the color of your hair, perhaps one or two other things.”

I nodded, it was still better than what I had hoped for.  I stood up and we continued the walk towards the pub. We finally arrived and I was amazed at the view, it was built on a large plateau overlooking the bay.  There was a beautiful park that we walked through to get to the main pub building, which abutted the sheer edge of the cliff.

Going past the park was an amphitheater that faced the ocean with all the seats carved into the stone of the mountain.  It had a small raised podium in the center and was full of workers busy putting torches on stands and hanging banners behind the seats.  “What is the occasion?” I asked as we entered the pub.  Looking at me Sebastian grinned and said, “Tonight we have a visiting Bard, one from distant lands.  He is renown all over the land and we are lucky to be able to hear him as he regales us with his stories.

“It sounds like you want to go hear this fellow, is that what you have planned for this evening?”  I asked. “Not now that you are back my prince, I will follow you in whatever you are endeavoring to do this evening.” Sebastian looked a little sad as he spoke and I knew he wanted to go see this Bard.  “What is his name?”  I asked I was becoming curious myself to hear this teller of tales.  In a world without electronic entertainment, someone like this would be extremely popular.

I believe he is called Druss and he has traveled from his home in the northern lands from across the sea.  He tells tales of Gods and Men, of the Light and the Darkness, of Demons and other races, and of the different lands, it is all very exciting.”  I slowly shook my head, it did not sound exciting it sounded like my life.  But if my friend wanted to see the Bard tonight, then that was the plan.

As we made our way into the pub I happened to glance at the bar and saw sitting in the shadows at the end Komhether, the messenger of the Gods.  I tapped Sebastian on the shoulder and told him to get a barmaid and then join me at the booth located behind Komhether.  As I made my way to the booth I observed that he looked terrible, clearly the times had been rough on him.

I sat and then pulled a couple of smokes from my pack, Sebastian had told me they were called decks but old habits die hard.  I lit them both up and then went and sat on the stool next to the little fellow.  Elbowing him I held up a smoke when he turned to look at me.  “Here,” I said.  “You look like you can use a smoke.”  He looked up at me blearily and then grabbed the smoke and took a puff.

“Now how is it that ya can see me ya wrinkled piece of sausage wrapped in skin.”  Komhether spoke a drunken drawl.  I just nodded and then spoke, “I have some questions for you my little messenger and I want some answers.  Without waiting for his reply I lifted him by the scruff and tossed him into the booth as Sebastian approached.

“My prince, what do we have here, a messenger of the gods.  You seem to attract both demons and angels.” Sebastian spoke softly with a smile but I could see a feral gleam in his eyes. I waved him to the other side as the barmaid brought over a flagon of wine, and a tankard of hard cider.  I pointed at the wine and then held up three fingers and then at my cider and held up one.  Brushing close to me and bending down she took a deep breath in and I watched as her loose blouse hung down and her chest rose up.

Her very visible nipples were hardening as I watched and I knew I had to get back on track.  Whispering in her ear, I said, “Bring us the drinks sweetie and some food, about four platters should do for a start.”  Then turning to Komhether I said, “Let’s talk.”  As we ate and drank our way through the afternoon, interspersed with bathroom and smoke breaks I heard the story of how the end of the Gods had changed things.

At the finish of the tale Sebastian was looking at the messenger with compassion, in a sense they had both been left behind, the Angelic messenger and the Demon.  They had been alone in an unfriendly world for a long time.  Life is not always kind I thought.  By this point, both Sebastian and Komhether were into the cups but the vast amounts of food we had eaten had helped to keep them at a light buzz.  They seemed to be really hitting it off and were now sitting on the same side.

This had happened on one of my breaks to the bathroom and judging by the giggles and silly jokes they were sharing both of them found the company of the other enjoyable.  I cleared my throat, and spoke, “Komhether, you must have guessed who I am by now, what I need to know is what you are going to do about it?”  I watched as Sebastian lit a smoke for the little guy and then leaned forward to hear Komhether whisper.

“You are the half Dragon Tor, you banished the Gods and then, in turn, were slain by the Eldest, the Unknown God, and now you have returned.  Just so you know I hated the Gods, they were a bunch of petty pricks.  So what are you going to do with me, if the King or Reona the Viceroy were to know you are back, well it would change things would it not?” He spoke with a false bravado that hid his fear.

I stared at him then smiled, “I am going to do nothing to you, my friend, I think that is what the Gods liked to do, boss  you around and that is not who I am, you are welcome to be free.”  As I spoke I could see the false bravado depart and only a lonely little immortal creature remained.

“Free, I am free, but what do I do, where do I go, I am lost” and with that Komhether grew silent and began to weep.  Staring at him possessively, Sebastian asked, “Can we have him join us, I will make sure that it works out.”  I stared at them both, two lonely little people, well what the hell; I did not want to be the one to determine someone’s happiness.  Still, I could not abandon him.   “He can join us but then he will have to be under discipline, I cannot have a weak link in my chain.” 

Staring at me they both smiled and agreed, then suddenly another Ding sounded and another small window opened up, it read.

You have accepted a holy entity into your party

The faction changes have been recorded

Komhether is now aligned with the Demonic prince Torn

New ability, Persuasion, to persuade the followers of the Gods to see the truth and join you

Nice I thought as I closed the window, I wonder if the ability would work on Reona.