We decide to head to the church. Religion in Dungeon Quest is an interesting thing. During the time when the game was being developed, some people thought it was an affront to have religion in a video game, and others wanted it so that they could share their beliefs with others in a different world and place. Ultimately, the AI who designed the game decided to create fragments of religion all throughout the world, and to give them real in-game power.
One of those usually used in games is the power to remove curses. Holy water, made by someone at a church, disables a curse for a short period, or a priest can bless an item to allow it to be moved, etc. They also usually know a lot about stuff.
In Dungeon Quest, the church in Fountain City can also use a greater identify - which gives you insight into items you're carrying. It costs 20 copper, but Koji said he'd lend me the money because he wants to know about the ring on my finger as well.
The church is a simple square gray stone building. There are no statues in the courtyard - just a small white fountain. It's less ornate than most other buildings. Inside, one large skylight fills the round central area and there are places to pray. A couple rooms come off the central round. After we enter and stand in the doorway for a few minutes, a woman approaches us and quietly asks, "Are you looking for anything, sirs?"
"Yes. We're looking to identify a potentially cursed item."
Her eyes light up. "We don't get many cursed items in this city. May I ask where it comes from?"
"It was a prize at the carnival outside the city. An item enchanted by a daemon."
Her eyes widen. "At the prize wheel?"
"Yeah."
Her hands grasp the edges of her white dress and she looks flustered.
"But Simon took the children... did anyone understand the danger? I hope they are alright... he didn't take money... but sometimes... but I must attend to this first..."
Her look solidifies and she regains her composure. "Please, follow me."
We follow her around the central area into a corner room. The room is half as tall as the central area, and has a simple wooden table and a few chairs. She sits at the table and motions for us to do the same.
"Now, can you present the item?"
I put out my right hand. The woman hesitates.
"The ring?"
"Yeah. It doesn't come off. It's called the *Karmic Ring of Strength*."
She reaches to touch my hand, turning the ring over on my finger. I watch her hands, then look up at her face and notice that she's blushing slightly.
"Can you identify it for us? Miss... what should we call you?"
"Sister Maribel. Yes, I can perform the identification. The requested donation is usually 20 copper, but if you will quickly take me to the carnival as soon as we are finished, I will ask for nothing in return. The donations support the orphanage and school... but today the children are at the carnival. I am afraid that someone will purchase tickets to the prize wheel for them. It will only take a moment."
She places my hand in front of her, then opens a screen above it. Placing one hand on top of the ring, she presses a button on the screen and speaks aloud, "Greater Identify."
---
No flash of light, no angelic messengers. We all wait and, after about 30 seconds, another status screen appears. She looks at it briefly, then flips it towards us.
---
Greater Identify (faith skill)
Karmic Ring of Strength (bound)
Effects: Karmic Touch - Strength
A ring touched by the Fate Heracle. Transfers her touch to the wearer.
*Karmic Touch - Strength*
Triggers Karmic Curse on the STR Strength attribute. The wearer's strength will decrease over time until reaching a minimum based on class. Does not affect attribute gains granted by equipment. While under the effect of Karmic Curse, the affected status on the status screen will be gray. Adaptive growth increases are not possible.
Cannot be removed under any circumstance.
---
My eyes are drawn to the last portion -
"...the status screen will be gray. Adaptive growth increases are not possible."
Gray stats. Black stats. Adaptive stats. I feel my heart beginning to fall and my gut feels like I'm going to be sick.
I open my status screen.
>>
Name: Gabe
Proficiency: None
Level: 0
HP: 10
MP: 5
STR: 0
AGI: 0
DEX: 0
END: 0
INT: 0
WIS: 0
CHA: 0
PER: 0
Inventory: Karmic Ring of Strength (bound)
>>
My name, hitpoints, and mana are in black text, as is the ring on my finger. My proficiency, level, and all my stats are gray.
I look back at the explanation, then up at Koji. His face shows concern. I think he understands exactly what's happening. Well, that would explain why I haven't gotten any adaptive stats, right? I read the text then look back at my status screen.
Wait.
No. They're not all gray.
I close the status screen and reopen it to check.
My STR stat is black.
The looming sense of doom lifts, and I feel a ray of hope.
I flip my status screen to Koji and the woman watching us across the table.
"Koji, Sister Maribel, look at my status. Do you see it????"
The woman's eyes grow wide as saucers.
"But this is..."
Oh yeah. Everything is zero. Lol.
"Not the zeroes. The color. Look at the color of my Strength stat!!!"
"..." The woman is clearly still in shock.
"...it's... black? What does that mean?"
"I have no idea, but I think it means that I can get adaptive stats now!!!! Right?!? I'm gonna go do a million push-ups!"
I stand up from the table. Wait. We promised we'd take Maribel to the carnival. I'll do that first.
"Sister Maribel, we can take you to the prize wheel now if you would like."
She still sits at the table, looking at the status screens in front of her.
"Are you alright?"
She still doesn't move.
"Sister Maribel?"
My voice shakes her awake again and she looks up, blushes slightly, then rises from the table. "Thank you. I will go with you now then."
She looks again at the screens in front of her, then back at me. Her eyes show a brief look of concern as she searches my face. She takes one of the status windows and folds it until it disappears.
We walk out of the room. Behind us, the rest of the status windows wink out of sight.
---
It only takes a few minutes to walk Sister Maribel to the carnival. The entire way I talk with Koji about ideas for improving my strength. Push-ups, picking up heavy rocks outside of town, carrying Koji's inventory bag. Lol. Sister Maribel follows us quietly.
"What do you love most about your work at the church?"
She looks up at me in slight wonder, looks around, and realizes I was speaking to her.
"Pardon?"
"What do you love most about working at the church?"
Her eyes look at me searchingly. She takes a short breath, "The children. The children in the orphanage have no parents, no homes to go to. Being able to see their smiles, their innocence, their eyes light up when they learn something new. My home is far from Fountain City, and my family did not approve of my joining the church. The children are my family here."
"Did they want you to do something else? You don't need to answer if that's too personal a question."
"It's no matter. They wanted me to study at the royal academy. But royal mages are used primarily in battle... and... I wanted to use my magic to help people."
Inside I feel a sense of warmth. She understands. She gets it.
"How did you learn magic then? Is there a way you could teach me magic?"
"I know only a few spells. Unlike battle magic, which can sometimes be taught, faith magic comes to individuals directly, as they do good deeds, and as they continue to practice. I had given up on learning any magic, but I guess that constantly worrying over the children has contributed to my skills. I can identify and heal minor wounds, identify objects, see curses and blessings, and make a small amount of light."
Her face glows with happiness when she talks about the kids at the orphanage. And she got skills from helping out there at the church? I doubt that it would work to volunteer at the orphanage to try to gain the same skills - faith skills sound like they are based on the mindset of the person instead of doing actions or learning something. She must be a pretty awesome person.
Sister Maribel catches me looking at her face and suddenly blushes and turns her face away. Hmm? Hahahaha even this quiet church girl gets self-conscious.
It's not hard to find the group of children at the prize wheel. We wave to Sister Maribel and make our way back to the city.
On the way back, Koji hands me his inventory, and I carry it in both hands. Man. This thing is so heavy. It's slow going and I'm covered in sweat by the time we reach the city gates. But training is hard right?
"So... how long do you think it'll take to get my first adaptive stat?"
"Well... I got my first one already."
"Wha????? And you didn't tell me?"
"I was concerned because you hadn't gotten one yet."
"Well... at least we know why now.
"Yeah but do we? Why are all your stats gray? Why would a cursed ring make your strength be black? How does this all fit together?"
"I think... it's because of my character creation. Remember when I made all my stats 0?"
"Yeah. How could I forget?"
"Well... I could make them a black zero or a gray zero. Making them gray zero gave me 5 extra points to work with."
"..."
"I think I inflicted karmic curse on myself, Koji. In exchange for 5 more status points, I made it so that I could never get strength, or intelligence, or wisdom... or anything."
He stops walking and turns to me.
"What do you mean never get them... what about adaptive stats?"
"The thing about karmic curse was pretty simple. It makes your stats turn gray, they drain away, and you can't get adaptive stats. All my stats are gray... so I think I may never get any of those stats. Ever."
He sits down on the ground. "Bro... I'm so sorry..."
"It's ok. I didn't know that I was cursing myself... but this is the character I made. I'm gonna make it work. And if this karmic ring of strength allows me to get adaptive stats in strength... then all I have to do is find a way to do that with everything else. Maybe I can find other stat-boosting items or something. Maybe there's a class or a skill or an item."
"That seems like a lot of work."
"Hahahahaha... Yeah. It does. Probably impossible. But it also sounds like an adventure, doesn't it?"
"Yeah sure. Says the guy who dies when he trips."
"Well, I'm gonna fix that! At least the strength part."
I drop down to the dirt to do push-ups. 1, 2, 3, 4... my hands slip and I hit my face on the ground. Minus 4 hit points. Really?
I start to pass out. This is going to be a long road. But I have hope. Right? I still believe I can make this work. I can do this.
---
Later that day:
Sitting in an alcove at the church, a woman wearing white unfolds a status screen, looks up at the light coming from the ceiling, and looks at the screen in front of her. Away from the eyes of others, her face fills with a horror greater than anything she has shown to anyone.
>>
Greater Status+ (cannot be shared or referenced to others) (faith skill)
Name: Gabe
Type: Otherworld Adventurer
Proficiency: None (locked)
Level: 0 (locked)
HP: 10
MP: 5
STR: 0
AGI: 0 (karmic curse)
DEX: 0 (karmic curse)
END: 0 (karmic curse)
INT: 0 (karmic curse)
WIS: 0 (karmic curse)
CHA: 0 (karmic curse)
PER: 0 (karmic curse)
LUC: 195 (hidden) (karmic blessing)
Inventory: Karmic Ring of Strength (bound)
>>