Gabe

The kids are choosing now. The seven of them are in a small group in the center of the church main foyer, and the rest of us are spread out around them. I already know the end result though. No one ever wants to be a pacifist - it’s too hard, and there aren’t any flashy benefits like shiny swords or explosion magic.

Zaza chooses to be a healer. Not a huge surprise, since she holds Sister Maribel’s skirt every moment it’s available. Igor wants to learn weapons. Also not a huge surprise. One little girl chooses to stand next to Koji - I don’t think I remember her name. The big surprise is Jade. She’s a newcomer. But she’s obviously very popular already, as three kids are excitedly talking to her about learning to “make cool stuff like Gabe’s metal arm.”

That leaves Grace. She doesn’t need to choose a proficiency, or gain levels, but Sister Maribel is giving her the choice anyway. She stands in the middle of the circle, playing with her fingers… and then slowly walks over to me.

Grace: “Gabe… I, I know you don’t want anyone with you… but… but… I want to stop the fighting. You want to stop the fighting too, right? Can I do it too?”

I crouch down and look at her in the eye.

Gabe: “Being a pacifist here is a big responsibility, Grace. It means giving up everything else to help the people you care about, and also giving up everything for everyone else too.”

Grace: “Huh?”

Gabe: “As a pacifist, there are no bad guys. Just people who are confused, or right now aren’t doing the right thing. You don’t get to choose sides in a war, you don’t get to protect just the people you care about. As a pacifist, you have to protect *everyone* no matter how mean they are.”

Gabe: “Are you sure about this choice? It might be scary, and it could also be difficult.”

Grace: “Yeah. I wanna be like you and Lucia.”

And so it’s decided. Grace will become a pacifist.

Except.

Wait.

Does that mean she has to crawl through the underground cave system and find the proficiency crystal? I don’t know if there’s a way out of the cave unless you touch the crystal… and I’m afraid of her drowning in the water. Well. Maybe she’ll be ok. I had zero stats when I went, and she at least has some since she’s the only one who didn’t die.

Sister Maribel: “Alright! Children, you’ll be going with the person you chose and they will teach you the basics of your chosen proficiency. You will return here to sleep each night. This will continue until everyone has increased to level 2.”

Gabe: “Alright Grace, shall we go?”

Grace: “Go where?”

Gabe: “Well, becoming a pacifist isn’t easy, but it also isn’t hard. You remember the shiny golden crystal I told you about? The one where I found Lucia underneath the waterfall?”

Grace nods her head.

Gabe: “Well, all you have to do is touch that crystal.”

I continue: “Before that, though, I need to explain what the crystal will ask you to do.”

Her eyes open wide: “The crystal talks??”

I laugh: “No, the crystal doesn’t talk. But being a pacifist means making promises, and losing some things.”

Grace: “Like what?”

Gabe: “Well, to begin, you’ll lose all your possessions except for the ones that are gifts. Do you have anything special that you care about?”

Grace: “...I have my momma’s necklace. Like that?”

Gabe: “Yeah.”

Man. I don’t want her losing her mother’s necklace. Would that count as a gift? I don’t even know how Grace became an orphan at such a young age. Well… it can’t be helped now.

Gabe: “Was it a gift from your momma?”

Grace: “It was the only thing they could find of her after she went away.”

Gabe: “Well, whoever gave it to you gave you something special then. I hope you get to keep it.”

I pause for a moment: “Are you sure you don’t want to go with someone else? Lots of people are over there with Jade.”

Grace looks wistfully at the noisy crowd surrounding the crafter.

Grace: “No. I choose you, Gabe. Sister Maribel told us we could choose anyone, and I choose you.”

My face turns red.

Gabe: “Well, let’s get going then!”

I pull up Protect and designate Grace as the person I’m protecting. Oh. I should explain to her about that.

Gabe: “One of the skills of a Pacifist is being able to protect one other person. You use the skill called *Protect* and then they are safe.”

Grace: “Like how you protected Lucia from the bad guys, right?”

Gabe: “Right. It means that instead of Lucia getting hurt, I get hurt instead.”

Grace: “I want to protect Sister Maribel. And Father Kyrael. And Lucia. And you, Gabe.”

Gabe: “I just used the skill on you. The first step in becoming a pacifist is a little scary. We have to go to the place with waterfalls and find the crystal in the caves underground… and that part you have to do alone.”

Grace: “You can’t come with me?”

Gabe: “I don’t think so. The only way out of the cave is by touching the crystal, and I might get stuck there. But Lucia can go with you. She knows the way.”

---

As we walk up the mountainside, Grace rambles on about everything around us. It’s not the first time she’s left the city, but it’s the first time she’s ever come to the mountains. The monsters here are usually too aggressive to take a kid along, even on the path.

Lucia is in my backpack. When I offered it to her after explaining that I had activated Protect on Grace to keep her safe, or offered to let her stay in the church, she slid into the backpack and glowed a slight pink hue. I’m hoping that means she’s happy with it. Jade mentioned that the pack is sturdy enough that it should protect Lucia as long as the hit isn’t a crushing blow.

I don’t really want to think about that.

Either way, we continue walking up the mountainous slope.

The main reason for my concern is that I still have only 3 HP.

I did more math. I started with 50 HP. I lost 36 HP bringing the kids back to life, and went 11 points under 1 HP. That brings to a total of 47 HP that are in limbo - the reason why I have 3 HP.

And we’re climbing up the mountain alone. Me, Grace, and Lucia. Grace is like 5 years old, and has 5 HP. Lucia is as fragile as a crystal doll and has 1 HP. And I have 3 HP.

I hope this wasn’t a mistake.

The pathway is long and steep. We stop to rest a few times so Grace can catch her breath. She’s a trooper though - no complaints at all.

During one of our stops I hear a hissing sound. I jump to my feet. There, in the middle of the path, is a massive snake.

I’m not really afraid of snakes. Their bodies are sort of weird, but what I’m afraid of is how quickly they can move. A snake can jump into the air, or strike, faster than you can blink your eyes. And this one is looking at Grace.

Grace is holding my hand and looks at the snake. She begins singing - a quiet, tiny song. I feel a jolt in my back, and suddenly Lucia has jumped out of my backpack and lands right in front of us - between us and the snake. She jumps up and down, giving off a different array of colors. The snake looks at us, and after what feels like an hour long staring contest, it coils up and slithers off the path.

I realize my hand is gripping Grace’s much more tightly than I intended to. And that I’m covered in cold sweat. I know that Jade said the metal cloth could protect me from almost anything, but I wasn’t about to let my arm get bitten by a snake when I was the only thing keeping two other beings from death.

The rest of the hike is uneventful. We arrive at the pool, and Lucia floats across the water and begins jumping on the small island in the center.

Maybe there’s a way inside from there?

Gabe: “Can you swim, Grace?”

Grace shakes her head no with a look of fear in her eyes.

I guess sending her into a cavern full of water may not have been the best idea.

Gabe: “Hold tight to me, ok? I won’t let you fall. We’re going to swim across to Lucia. She might know a way to get to the underground cave.”

She nods her head. Brave girl.

I start to take off my backpack, but then remember Jade’s words. I look around and see a sizable tree, unclasp my belt, and loop it through the pack, then press the clasp again.

Grace: “Did Jade make the magic rope for you?”

Gabe: “Magic rope?”

She points to the belt - over three meters long - with the red gem clasp. I guess it does sort of look like a magic rope.

Gabe: “She did. She and Koji made all the cool stuff I’m wearing.”

Grace: “Won’t it get wet if we go in the water?”

Gabe: “I guess we’ll see!”

I start walking into the water and extend my hand to Grace. She follows me, and when she can no longer touch the ground holds tightly to my arm. The water gets deeper and deeper until just my shoulders are outside, and I have her hold around my neck.

Gabe: “Don’t let go, ok? But don’t be scared. I’ll keep you safe even if you lose your grip.”

I swim across the pool to the island in the center, reminded of times I’ve done this in the past with kids in the real world. Some kids love turtle or dolphin rides (that’s what we always called it) but some hated them. Usually a turtle ride was under the water. But that’s beside the point.

It only takes a few moments to get to Lucia on the tiny island. The island is interesting - instead of being an embankment with sand or dirt, it’s simply a platform placed in the middle of the pool. There’s nothing underneath it holding it up. But it’s super stable - not like a floating platform. Weird.

As I stand up on the platform, a screen pops up in my vision.

[Transfer to Sanctuary of Pacifism? {Yes} {No}]

Lucia jumps to my shoulder, and I hold Grace’s hand as I click {Yes}. Golden light surrounds the island, bright enough that we can’t see anything else, and then suddenly we are inside a cave.

And there, just a meter or two away, is the golden crystal where it all started.

Grace: “Oooooooooohhhhhh it’s so pretty! Is that the crystal you told us about?”

Gabe: “It is.”

Grace: “Can I touch it?”

Gabe: “You can. Just be careful though. It will probably hurt some. But you’ll be ok.”

Grace (looking confident): “Ok.”

She reaches over to the crystal and presses her right hand to it.

And then she disappears.