The next evening, Else had gotten out of her coffin and went out to look for KillPrinsX. She wasn’t sleeping in a bed…?
She stepped out of her cottage. It didn’t take long to find her. KillPrinsX was sleeping in the mud, facedown! She went over to kick her up. “Hey! Night's starting. I have a job for you.”
KillPrinsX rolled over and looked at her state. Muddy everywhere, except for her backside. She got up and, wincing at the pain in her legs, asked, “Alright, what is it, what’s next?” Her courage wasn’t gone. Despite the physical exertion— oh the pain!— she had gotten quite a good boost to her attributes, and an upgraded skill. Well on the path to becoming a skillful Vampire.
“You need to get a book.”
“A book?”
“Yes. Very specific, it’s one that will…” she smiled, “Oh, you’ll see. You won’t be disappointed.”
“So where is it?” KillPrinsX asked.
“It’s on the other side of the forest, in an old abandoned cottage, on a half burnt shelf.”
“That sound cool.”
“Yeah, it is. But it’s not that simple. You need to start the quest by talking to somebody… right here.” She sent a location on the map.
Bloodless
After having undergone the first task; grinding skills and gaining a new ability, the next task has begun.
The journey to becoming bloodless has brought you to acquiring a book. One which you may not know the knowledge it will bring you, but one inevitably necessary for becoming a master Vampire.
The location on your map is the location of a man in Waylaid Village, looking for butter. Find him and start the quest to finding that book.
“Really, Butter?”
“Yes, that’s the one. Now hurry, go and find him.”
“Alright.” She started walking off in the direction of the point on her map.
“Oh, one more thing,” Else said. “How’s your sneaking skill?”
“Umm,” she looked it up, “around rank three.”
“Yeah, you better go and sneak everywhere and get that up. Unless you want me to make you do fifty laps while sneaking… at a dead run.”
KillPrinsX stopped dead in her tracks, crouched, and ran off again, Charlotte scuttling behind.
A few hours later she had made it to a new village. The journey was alright. Actually leveling up her sneak wasn’t a bad idea. Any monsters she had encountered hadn’t even noticed her. Only one, where she had cast her Neurotoxin straight at a lone wolf and only made it angry. The poison did nothing, only making its fur wet, but after a good jump and stab with her dagger the wolf felt it, the poison going in, and it’s body going limp. A few more stabs and it was down for the count.
Waylaid Village wasn’t like any of those she had visited before. It’s was dark and gloomy, like the Vampire’s, but there were a lot more cottages, a few houses and a big ol’ mansion sitting on the hillside.
She ventured in, getting odd looks from a couple players and some even weirder commentary from the NPCs. She didn’t pay any of them attention, and went on looking for the man she was supposed to find.
After backtracking down the main street once or twice, she had finally found him. He looked like a fifty year old bum who had gambled his life away and managed to beg for a bottle of beer, which he was holding limp in one hand, accompanied by a piece of bread which lay on his chest with a single bite taken out of it. The man himself was laying in pile of hay in the corner of a literal pigsty.
She kicked his foot and woke him up.
He groaned. “Leave me alone. Can’t you see, I’m lonely and done with my life.”
“What happened?” KillPrinsX asked.
“I can’t eat this bread. It’s terrible. I’ve feasted with kings and queens, dined with best chef’s cuisine. Now I’m left with greedy taste buds and an empty stomach.”
“Let me guess, you’d like some butter?”
His eyes brightened up, and the tired look on his face went away. “How’d you know!? If you could only bring me some butter… I’d owe you a lifetime!”
Butter for life
A sad old man only needs some butter to save his life. Help the man out and he said he’ll give you his life in return.
“Sure thing.”
She ran down the street looking for some shop that might have butter. It wasn’t hard to find, it was a shop with with a fading painted cow on the wooden sign. She went in and asked for a stick of butter.
“Fresh out,” the NPC at the desk said.
“Maybe just a spoonful?”
He checked the cabinets as if he hadn’t just checked. “Fresh out. You could milk the cows, then we’ll have butter.”
The quest popped open, extending the tasks, leading her to go milk the cows out back.
She went around the cottage and found the cow. She milked it and brought back a pail of fresh creamy milk for the shop owner. “Here’s your milk.”
She looked ecstatic. “Wow, thanks! Now we only need someone to churn it and make it into butter… Could you help?”
The quest once again expanded to churning butter.
She looked around for a second and found the churn. She dumped the milk in and started to churn.
A good 20 minutes later she had strengthened her arms and now had a bowl of butter.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Here you go,” she told the shop owner.
“Wow, thanks!”
“Alright, I’ll take the butter now.” KillPrinsX said, turning to head out.
“Oh no you don’t. You have to pay first.” The NPC had his arms on his hips and was looking stern at KillPrinsX.
“Wait a second. But I just made this myself.”
“Rule are rules. You’re here to buy butter. I’m selling butter. So hand over 20 gold.” He pulled out a sword and took a stance.
Better not have the town and whatever magically spawned guards attacking her. She started to haggle.
“Listen here,” she said. “I just made this butter and I need some of it, now.”
“Well, well. Look whose gotten all defensive. Do you want the butter or not?”
“I’ll take the butter. But I’m not paying 20 gold for it. I’ll pay 2 gold. I did all the work anyways.”
“2 gold!? Are you trying to put me out of business?”
“I might as well! If you think ripping off customers is how you conduct business.”
“No… fine, 15 gold.”
Boy is this man greedy. “I’ll pay 8 gold and that’s my final offer.”
“14.”
“8.”
“13.”
“8.”
“12!”
“8!”
“Fine! 10 it is,” The shop owner yelled.
“Fine! 10 gold!” The gold came out of her bank and the shop owner suddenly looked happy again.
“Thanks for doing business! Come back soon!”
“Yeah. I won’t.”
She walked out, slamming the door, and made it back to the old man needing the butter.
“Here’s your butter,” she said.
The old man stood up and clapped his hands… until he grabbed his back in pain. “Well. Oh my,” he said gladly. “Now, I shall feast!” He grabbed the bowl of butter greedily, picked up his piece of bread and scooped up an unhealthy amount of butter.
KillPrinsX watched him savor every bite.
“Now, where were we,” the old man said, wiping his hands on his grimy pants.
“You we’re going to tell me where to find a book.”
He turned his head up sharply and peered at the little girl. “How did you know?” He said slowly.
“Just tell me.”
He shook off his wonder and started telling his story. “Long ago, when I was a wee boy… no, a man, I had fought many battles and slain many a monster by then. I was a brave man, but brave is what they called me. It wasn’t my sword, it wasn’t my strength. What made me brave was Knowledge!” He ended up shouting the last word, then quieted down, looking to make sure no one was watching. “I knew,” he whispered, “I knew how to make a giant fall by one punch. I knew how to cause suffering to a fully armored knight with my bare hands. I knew the secrets of fighting that many did not. Making every hit count, when and where. That was the key.”
He looked around again to make sure no one else was nearby. “But the knowledge came from a book. A good one. And one which was burnt down in my house long ago…” He looked up sadly at KillPrinsX. “But maybe not!” He smiled and winked. “I encased that book in a spell, one which made it fireproof, waterproof and actually unable to be opened by anyone,” he snickered. “Unless you know the magic words…” he stood there with his arms crossed, looking proud.
“Uhh… What are the magic words?”
“You would never guess,” he said, now holding his chin up.
“Well, what are they?”
“I give you three guesses.”
“Abracadabra?”
“What!?” He jumped and flailed his arms. “How. Did. You. Know?”
“I guessed,” KillPrinsX said flatly.
“Alright then. But now you need to get to the house. It’s deep in the forest. Deep… very deep, very dark. Trees, mountains.”
“Uh-hu?”
“Between two giant rocks, north of here. It was a house, now burned down. And that why I’m living here.” He motioned to his pigsty that he had just woken up out of.
“So I need to find two rocks and a house in between. Where could that be?”
He pointed secretively over his shoulder. “Thataway.”
She looked, just on the top of the hill was exactly what she was looking for.
A prompt came up telling her she had a new quest, but didn’t bother looking at it.
She rolled her eyes and started marching, but was sorely reminded of Else’s instructions and started crouching.
She crouched through the path that lead out of the village and ventured into the trees, getting closer to the burned down house.
A few minutes later she could see it again. Two rocks and a once been house, only the foundation, a few wooden pillars, and a corner of the walls were left.
She ventured a few steps further into the house and she took a look around. Nothing much, just burnt wood. But behind the wall was a book laying in between some burnt rubble.
She picked it up.
You have found: Book
This book is bound by magic and cannot be read.
She spoke the magic words. “Abracadabra.”
The prompt changed.
You have found: Book of Pressure Points
Would you like to read it?
She chose Yes.
The book opened and she could read the script, but an option gave her the choice to fast-read. She hit it.
Then the book floated up, light shone from it for a second before beaming into her forehead.
You have read: Book of Pressure Points
+10 points to Intelligence: Knowledge: Pressure points
50% chance of landing a critical hit in unarmed combat.
Wow, What a skill!
No kidding this was part of Vampire training. Being able to go up and land critical hits without sneaking or coming up from behind is really… critical.
She stopped reading and was about to leave when she found that she was accompanied by a pair of ghosts…
They didn’t look friendly, and had that evil feeling when you’ve snuck up and already got pass them somehow.
She quickly took out her knife and jabbed at the closest one a few times. “Take that!” It did absolutely nothing.
The ghost pushed her back and made her slam up against the wall, losing a few HP.
She ran out of the house, getting some room to fight and figure out the next attack. She tried to set Charlotte after them, but she politely declined, thinking other forms of attacks would work better. For her, ghosts ranked up there next to dogs.
She threw her hand forward and cast Bloodsucker. Again, no luck. Ghosts don’t have blood. But maybe the other one? She tried HP drain, but there it didn’t do anything sufficient.
By now the ghosts had gotten up close again and she had to do a number just to get away from them again.
There was always the backup plan to run. But she still had one more never failing spell. Fireball!
Finally! Some damage, but still no respectable drop in the ghost’s HP. Not for the cost of 50 MP.
Backup plan: RUN!
She turned and took no less than two steps before finding a bear charging towards her.
What the hell? This wasn’t in the quest description. Though she did remember specifically not reading that last update.
Well, finally an animal worth fighting. Here goes nothing.
She executed a perfect Psychic Evade while jabbing her fist into some sweet spot her newly found knowledge had given her.
The bear howled in pain, being stunned in one hit.
She conjured another Fireball and let it rip. Then quickly pulled out a bone dagger and infused it with Neurotoxin. Then she jumped on the flaming bear, impaling the dagger deep between it’s ribs.
The bear stood no chance against her now. A clean and quick fight. It still had a small bit of health left, but the Neurotoxin would take care of that, and the ghosts were coming closer!
She ran off, making sure Charlotte had fled too, and fired one last Fireball.
Now that she could sprint faster using Bolt, she lost the ghosts in no time, she even had enough stamina to make it back to village.
She didn’t need to, but she felt she had better thank the old man for that quest, even if he was an NPC.
She found him, laying just as he was before, only without a piece of bread on his chest.
She kicked his foot and got him to wake up. “Quest complete,” she said.
“You found the book?” He stood up and was looking quite surprised.
“I did. It’s priceless!”
“Well, I do hope it comes in handy. I’ve slain armies single handed with the knowledge of that book and with great help from…” he looked like he was going to give a hint for another quest.
KillPrinsX stood there for a few seconds, waiting for him to finish his sentence. “And?”
“And a trusty sword, lost in a cave… far away… stuck in the rocks. But a venomous beast…”
She couldn’t keep listening to all his half statements, “Just give me the quest,” she said.
A prompt opened up.
The Sword of Accuracy
The old man is glad that you have found his old Book of Pressure Points and hopes that you will put the knowledge to good use.
He has hinted at another of his secrets, a trusty sword, lost in a cave… stuck in the stone…
Find his Sword of Accuracy.
She had gotten another prompt shortly after.
The quest of Bloodless does not require you to retrieve the old man’s sword. Do not forget, the path to becoming a Vampire lies in following orders, this is not one of them. Accepting the quest and straying from the path will revoke the quest Bloodless and any trust you have made with the Vampire Clan.
So that was a firm no.
She politely declined the quest, telling the old man that she has a meeting shortly. He understood and went back to sleeping.
KillPrinsX crouched. Off to meet Else back at the Vampire village.