I was still laughing as we made our way out of the dungeon. We followed the law of lefts all the way out and found that the dungeon made a circle. No other monsters were within, the last wave summoned by the alpha having pulled them all in. The rest of the spaces were much like that which came before it. Just stone rooms with trash and yuck. It was actually a bit of a boring dungeon without the monsters in it. Not even any lore or history to pick up from it.
It definitely had an alpha underdevelopment vibe, gaming wise. The only purpose of it to kill creatures and get a loot chest. I would expect an underground complex in the middle of nowhere to be full of ancient research projects or freakish evil experiments from the long past. I considered making another report with my observation, but I doubt telling Loki his dungeon was boring and needed some flavor would go well.
“I’m really sorry Hal.” Mave said again to a very mopey Halloway. She held up the fabric with its frills and holes, inspecting it again. “I know it isn’t fair, but it really isn’t your style. Mine either.”
“It matches the torn blackness of my soul.” Dark said in the most chipper voice I had heard from him yet.
“You should wear it then.” I quipped and he scowled at me.
I guess he wasn’t the cross-dressing sort. It was a dress that Halloway had pulled out of that chest. Something gothic and purposefully distressed with a slight Victorian cut. It had a plunging neckline that only ended because of the corset that was part of it. Truly a piece of RPG female armor. The flags it possessed weren’t anything special, just CHOSEN_ARMOR and DURABLE.
I felt the only thing it was missing were black wings jutting out the back for the true cliché to be reached. Since Mave was the only lady amongst us, she got it, with rights to keep or sell as she wished. Judging from the sour look she gave it, and the puppy dog eyes behind bangs look that Dark gave it. She might wear it, but just for him.
I chuckled again. The rest of the chest held some mundane items of an anachronistic sort. A small hand mirror with silver edging, a turn dial masterlock, a plastic toothbrush. I Inspected them as he showed them off, but there wasn’t anything special about them.
There was also the obligatory bag of coins, but Ryan had immediately snatched that and said he would divvy it up at the end of the journey. I had a feeling that it would be significantly less than a fair percentage by that time. If I could have counted it before he hid it away, I would have felt a lot better about him holding it. I didn’t trust him as far as I could throw his big ass.
Outside the dungeon we made a camp and recuperated for the remainder of the day, eating trail rations and resting to let our wounds mend. Once Mave was a little more refreshed, she cast her pain-reliever spell on me for my cuts, and Halloway for the brilliant sunburn and scorch marks he sported. She apologized for that too. I found it hilarious. That might have been the drug high from the analgesia Word talking but probably not.
We were all fine, just a little beat up and had come out alive. Why not laugh about it? They didn’t share my amusement.
The next morning everyone was up bright and early. I saw with some satisfaction that they all were woken up by the annoying blue screen alarm clock with me. Couldn’t sleep through it this time could you, my little bitter heart cried out in glee.
“Now we head back to Volstad?” I confirmed the plan with the group.
“Yes. But we won’t be staying long, just restock trail rations then out for the next dungeon before someone else gets to it.” Ryan said.
It was probably the longest explanation I had from him to date. Maybe he was starting to accept me after that mess of a fight we dealt with in the dungeon.
“Who’s turn is it for the next loot?” I asked.
If the group was following a round-robin sort of looting scheme, taking turns, I needed to know where I fell in the rotation. It wasn’t very efficient but seemed to be okay with them. I preferred a need-over-greed allocation system. The best items went to the best suited. After Halloway gave up the dress to Mave, I assumed he had the same sort of thoughts.
“Mine.” Ryan said with satisfaction.
From what I saw so far, he got the greatest portion of the coinage, first rights to market buys, and a full chest to himself. Yep, seemed fair. I tried not to seethe about it. I didn’t like being a greedy person, but the balance of wealth was quite a bit in favor of the leader. A guy who, as far as I could reason, was really bad at his job.
I was feeling very helpless in this situation. It was like before I had died. Powerless in the face of employers who showed no discernible skill, only in positions due to happenstance or silver spoon. Powerless to faceless corporations who controlled everything in your life. Medical wellbeing, housing, price of food, and bare necessities all controlled by rich people getting richer, and your stuck footing the bill. Take every penny from us for no better reason than they can. Completely powerless.
Is that really the way I wanted my afterlife to be? Here there were faces to those that did evil and took from you. Here I was the one with an advantage. A path to power that could change my fate. I undeniably had game-changing abilities. Pun-intended.
I just couldn’t get caught or it would be taken from me just like my living life. Maybe there was something I could do to safe-guard against that.
I prepared myself for the road with these thoughts swirling in my mind. I just needed to do something that was almost impossible for me. Be patient.
We made our way past Haroldstadir, I stopped for a moment to see if there had been any sign of Oskar. There still wasn’t. We were about halfway to the Fat Pig when we came across a wagon.
Pest was the first to notice something, as he was still fond of ranging ahead and around the group when not sleeping on me or Mave. He halted in the middle of the road just short of the next rise.
“Blood,” he said as he scented the air. “Lots of blood.”
“Where?” I asked him as the others tensed up and started preparing weapons.
“All around. Strongest scent ahead,” he said as he pointed up the road. I looked around the grasses and flowers of the meadowy grasslands. Nothing was visibly wrong to what I could see.
We cautiously advanced and surmounted the rise. The scene we found a brutal reminder that safety wasn’t a guarantee on the road. A wagon was stopped in the small dip of the road, just enough hill around to hide in. The ox that had been pulling it lay on its side disemboweled. Its innards spilled out to coat the ground. No riders or driver were present.
Obvious signs of a scuffle went from the wagon to the side of the road and disappeared into the tall grass. We followed a trail so obviously even I could track it. Halloway went first and stumbled as he tripped over a body that was hidden within the grass. Dark used his spear to part the grass and we found the desiccated corpse of a goblin. I Inspected it.
Name: Corpse
Species: Goblin
FLAGS: WITHERED, DECAY
WITHERED? That was a new one, the corpse looked even more dried out and shrunken than the ancient zombie that I had fought with in the cave. The corpse was painted with blood, one of the bone knives that the goblins seemed to prefer clutched in its dried-out hand. The grass was disturbed and trampled beyond the corpse. The blood was thick and still wet and sticky but the ancient looking corpse didn’t seem to have any obvious wounds.
Further in, another set of corpses lined the rough trail. The group was starting to hesitate at the sight of more dead goblins. I slipped through them and took the lead.
“Careful, they may be opossum,” Mave said in a way of warning.
I glanced at the bodies and back to her.
“No, they are super dead.” I said confidently.
I didn’t need my cheater Inspect skill to tell that. Pest slipped out of the grass beside me giving me a start. He was a sneaky little bastard in this terrain, even with his new body and gear.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Another desiccated goblin was splayed out in the grass but was laying half atop a girl. She wasn’t moving and was covered in blood. Everything was covered in blood today, what was this a Tarantino movie? I Inspected her.
Name: Carmilla
Race: Human
Type: Chosen
Allegiance: NONE
FLAGS: GODTOUCHED, EMO
Health: Heavily Injured
Energy: Depleted
She was alive, but with the wounds she had it probably wouldn’t be that way for much longer.
“I found someone!” I shouted out. It wasn’t needed as the party was right at my heels.
I tossed the goblin to the side, it was easier than it should have been, like tossing dried brush. The party surrounded her. Mave hissed as she looked over the damaged woman.
“Do you have any healing items?” I asked her as I dug into my pack for my tiny jar of healing salve. I wasn’t sure if it was potent enough to be efficient on such extensive wounds.
Mave’s latent nursing training must have taken hold because she was all business. She ripped away the remains of the girl’s shredded clothing to reveal a slashed and frail body. She only had a little bit more muscle than the desiccated goblins. Her frame being something one would find on a fashion model runway.
“Ryan.” Mave said with an edge to her voice. “Give me one.”
“She isn’t our problem.” Ryan said flatly.
“Hijo de la gran puta.” She snapped out in rapid Spanish before saying, “Give me one, now.”
Her tone was something that I could only describe as ‘mom voice’. It brooked no further discussion on the matter.
With an irritated grumble Ryan drew out a tiny vial from a pouch on his bandoleer. I Inspected it as he passed it to Mave.
Name: Vial
Material: Glass
Durability: Undamaged
Value: Prized
FLAGS: TEMPERED
Contents: Healing Potion
Contents Flags: MAGICAL_HEALING - MODERATE
A true health potion. Finally, some gamification that could make a difference.
“What is that?” I asked.
“A gold coin a piece.” Ryan snapped out.
Mave carefully removed the stopper from the tiny vial and dripped the paltry amount of liquid within onto the girl’s lips. There was hardly enough liquid within to wet them.
The results of those few drops were powerful and instantaneous. The wounds healed at an accelerated rate. The bleeding stopped and the larger slashes started filling with granulation tissue. Some small wounds healed completely. They didn’t even leave a blemish. It was like the nighttime healing process put in a bottle but without the permanent damage. The largest wounds still looked like they needed some healing. No longer actively bleeding, but wet and gooey. The miraculous healing process seemed to run out of steam after the initial burst.
Mave snatched the jar of healing salve out of my hand. I had completely forgotten about it when I saw the potion. She applied it to the remaining wounds in a quick and efficient manner. She then listened to the girl’s chest and felt her pulse.
“I don’t think she will die.” She said matter-of-factly. This version of Mave was new to me, and honestly a little intimidating.
“Badass.” I said.
“Told you.” She said with a smile.
Dark was staring with an odd look of adoration on his severe face. Though I noticed he was directing it at the thin naked girl instead of Mave.
A few hours later we found ourselves a little way down the road. Just far enough to be comfortable to set up camp away from the slaughtered ox and goblin corpses. We had transported the woman with us, Mave hissing and upset at every bump and jostle she received.
A fire blazed away merrily, and we roasted a portion of beef that I harvested from the ox. The girl had awakened and we were gently coaxing the story out of her.
“I was coming to Volstad,” she said. Her manner was fidgety and anxious like a sparrow dancing on a fence. Constantly readjusting and checking her surroundings. Her blonde hair glowed in the firelight. “I showed up in this place at a village so small it didn’t even have a name.”
“What did you do to the goblins?” Halloway asked, his super charisma working on overdrive to keep the girl calm. As I looked her over, I guessed her age to be in the mid to late teens. She was wearing the black dress that Halloway had given Mave, her old clothes unsalvageable after the goblin and nurse treatment.
“Wither,” she said quietly. “It is a Word that I know.”
Mave perked up at this.
“You are god-touched?” She asked the girl.
“Yes,” she said simply, emulating Mave’s own reluctance to be to descriptive about the subject. “I became a witch of sorts at the village, doing small things with herbs and Words. I had just saved up enough money to buy the cart and Gerard.”
“Gerard?” Halloway asked. And she wordlessly glanced at the roasting beef above the fire. “Oh…”
“It’s okay. His energy will be passed to us as his journey along the cycle continues.” She said.
I heard Ryan let out a little groan. He had been extra surly since he had to give up his potion, refusing to mingle with us. That didn’t seem to restrain him from scoffing and muttering under his breath at things we said though.
She winced in pain as she tried to make a circular sign the in air at her proclamation. She had large expressive eyes that were surrounded by black charcoal. Mixed with her pale skin, thin frame and new black dress, she looked like Wicca Barbie.
“Do you have anyone you know in Volstad?” Halloway asked her.
“No, I was just told by the villagers that most Chosen in the area were there.” She scrunched up her face and some tears started to cut through the makeup and dirt that was on her face. “Everything I owned was in that cart.”
“We checked it after we found you. The goblins destroyed nearly everything in it.” Halloway said as he passed her something. “This was the only thing we salvaged, and I think that was because it had fallen in the grass as you were escaping.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly as she took a straw broom from him. It only increased her cliche archetype appearance in my mind. I had Inspected it earlier, and it was an unattuned Implement. Whatever ran this System seemed to get enjoyment out of giving people loot to profile them into a trope.
“Would you like to come with us to the settlement?” He asked her and she nodded in response.
I bedded down shortly after this, and Halloway seemed to run out of questions. Dark sidled up next to her and just sat there hiding behind his bangs. She did the same behind her own blonde locks. Damn emo kids. Now they travel in packs.
“Carmilla? Like the vampire?” He eventually asked her.
Her eyes went comically large, and she stared at him.
“You know?” She asked in surprise.
“Yes,” he said, “I am a big fan of creatures of the night.”
I rolled my eyes and gave a groan of my own before turning away from them to get some sleep.
The next morning, I received my 8th perk fragment. The claim option was still blacked out. We continued our trek and passed by the Fat Pig without stopping. I did step inside to ask if Idunn had seen Oskar, but he hadn’t.
I had to jog to catch up to the party, as Ryan had kept them walking and was seemingly willing to leave me behind.
Mave and Carmilla seemed to not be meshing well. It was the first time I had seen Mave acting cold with anyone. I wasn’t sure what Mave had against her, but I’m betting it was how Dark was buzzing around Carmilla like a bee around a particularly sweet flower.
It was the most energy I had ever seen out of the normally dour and introverted boy. They talked at length about vampires. From Bram Stoker all the way to the sparkly variety. I learned more about them than I ever wanted to.
“Do you trust her?” Mave asked me as we walked. “What if she is really a hag-witch disguised as a Chosen? Just waiting to spring her trap against us.”
“I don’t think the residents of the tower can do that.” I said as I pondered it. “Pretend to be a Chosen.”
I glanced over my shoulder at the two emo kids who were lagging behind us as they chattered away.
“We don’t know that!” She insisted.
“She knows way too much about sparkly vampires to be a resident.” I told her. I knew for a fact she was a Chosen due to my Inspect skill. But it wasn’t something I could reveal to Mave.
“Just give her some time to settle, yesterday was horrible. It’s probably a good thing that Dark can distract her.”
“Hmm,” she hummed noncommittally. “I don’t speak of it much here, but I believe in Papa Dios. I’m not sure what his plan is with this place. But I am surrounded by trials and pagans.”
“I see,” I said lamely. It wasn’t the response she was looking for and she looked at me with some dissapointment. What could I say, I didn’t believe in God with a capital G. Even with all this ‘pagan’ nonsense that my life, or afterlife, had become. This could all be a VR simulation of some sort, an alien invasion prank, a coma dream, or even an intense hallucination.
The remainder of the journey to Volstad was uneventful. Dark and Carmilla nattered on, Mave grew more distant and sullen as the day went on. I tried to cheer her up, even enlisting Halloway to help. He confided in me that he felt awkward as hell with the situation, and I had to agree with him. It was obvious to me the path this dynamic was going to go.
This boring road was better with companions, even awkward ones. We finally came to Volstad the next day.
“We will leave the day after tomorrow,” Ryan said as we made it to the Cabin. Carmilla was still tagging along with us. Dark pestered Ryan into asking her to join the Red Wolves, and Halloway made a convincing pitch about being stronger in a group and it was dangerous to go alone. Carmilla didn’t take much convincing to join up.
Mave was a wall of ice and didn’t spend any more time than necessary in the cabin before going out again. Halloway quickly went after with Carmilla in tow to get her an official Red Wolves patch. Dark reluctantly stayed behind to do some chores that Ryan forced upon him.
As I was cleaning off my gear, I spoke without looking at him.
“What you are doing to Mave is fucked up, bro.” I said just loud enough for him to hear.
“Doing to Mave? I’m not doing anything to Mave.” He said defensively.
“You are all over the new girl, you think we don’t see that?” I said, turning to look at him. His face was scrunched up in a way that just made me want to punch him.
“Mave and I are just casual, it’s not like I am committed to her or anything.” He said like a wounded boy.
“That sort of thing is what makes you a boy.” I said. “Own up to your bullshit.”
“I’m not a boy!” He shouted at me.
“You sure as hell aren’t a man!” I shouted back. The little shit pissed me off.
“Hey!” Ryan bellowed from the doorway to his private room. “What the fuck is going on in here. You starting shit Viktor?”
Dark instantly went quiet with a smug expression on his face as he glared at me. I just glared at both of them.
“Nope.” I said simply before storming out. Those fuckers can have each other.
I needed to get stronger, so I didn’t have to deal on fuckers like that. Or maybe I would deal with them. Just not in a way they would appreciate.