Fantasy,rpg Boss,woman,tall,armored,beautiful,red [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/313aaab4-767f-4cea-91cb-69c8d8fbef2a/dhbpw6e-310908ea-b8d3-4349-b4cd-525a387d9bdb.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzMxM2FhYWI0LTc2N2YtNGNlYS05MWNiLTY5YzhkOGZiZWYyYVwvZGhicHc2ZS0zMTA5MDhlYS1iOGQzLTQzNDktYjRjZC01MjVhMzg3ZDliZGIucG5nIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.6IrjzuGmlJitxSZDoEqeTkvFQ1u7xVQiC4s3RT0I4A0]
It looks like you guys came up with two options. You want to either ask Father about moving embers of longing or attack the early area for the ring of fire resistance. You couldn't agree on which one we should go with, though.
I'm going to get the ring of fire resistance. Father is insane, so he isn't exactly a reliable source. Asking him might not go anywhere. And I'd be able to fight much better with that ring.
So, let's get going. I don't want to waste any time.
I stood up and walked to the door of my chamber. A low pain flowed through me, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. When I stepped through the exit, I saw a pair of guards standing outside. Shock coated their faces when they noticed me.
"You're leaving your room, Your Royal Highness?" one asked.
"I am," I answered.
"You...haven't done that in a very long time," he said.
"I'm going for a walk. A long walk. Don't expect me to be back for several days."
Now, the guards looked confused.
"What brought this on, Your Royal Highness?"
Okay, I need some good excuse. They might start suspecting something if I act weird.
"You can only stay cooped up in one place for so long before it gets tiresome," I said without emotion.
"Alright," one of the guards nodded. "But take some of us with you."
I shook my head.
"No. I want to be alone. I need to think things through," I stated.
Before one of the guards could object, I spoke again.
"And we need all of you here. After all, you need to make sure no one knows that I'm gone until it's too late," I said, making sure to put a bit of menace in the last words I spoke.
The guards shared a look.
"What do you mean by 'it's too late?'" one of them asked.
"I am going for a very enthusiastic walk," I answered.
"Well...if it's your orders, Your Royal Highness, we will stay here. But we should at least inform your father of this."
That could be bad. He's insane, so I have no idea what he would do.
"No," I said. "In Father's mental state, he might take an unnecessary risk. If you have to inform someone, tell Sorcerer Cathbad."
The guards nodded.
"Of course, Your Royal Highness."
With that, I stepped past them and walked through the fortress, making sure to avoid any other guards as best as I could. I still had a few conversations just like the one with my room's guards. But at least it wasn't as annoying as it could have been.
When I left the fortress, I gazed over the surrounding area. Hysterland was a mess of black forests and tall mountains. Tall buildings from large settlements dotted the skyline. I counted the structures I could see.
There are more of them than there were in the game. And Hysterland seems a lot bigger. I guess that makes sense. If the game world was as large as it was in the lore, it would take months to finish even without the difficulty. And I don't think any computer could run it.
Don't worry about this taking too much time. I know a shortcut to the game's early areas. Yes, this will take longer than I thought, but it won't be that long.
I walked over to the side of the fortress and moved to the edge of the cliff it was on. Scanning the area below the cliff, I saw a pool of water below me.
In Shattered Dusk, falling into deep enough water negates any fall damage you would take. If we jump into that water, we'll be in the game's earlier area and a short distance from the castle we're going to.
Don't worry. I'm not going to just jump down there. In real life, falling into water from high enough isn't any different from falling on concrete. I'll test it first to make sure this world works on Shattered Dusk's game mechanics and not real physics.
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I walked over to a tree and broke off one of the branches. Then, I threw the piece of wood down into the water. It landed with a splash and was intact after.
Moving back, I ran at the cliff. When I reached it, I leaped into the air. I felt the wind rush at my face as I was in the sky.
Before me was a grand tapestry of fallow fields, shattered roads, and damaged buildings. I could see the castle I was going to far in the distance.
It looks like it was even further away than I thought it would be.
Then, I plummeted. The rush of wind became a hurricane as I fell. I closed my eyes as the water got closer and closer. My mouth opened, and I sucked in air. Then, I held my breath.
I collided with the water with a loud splash! Wetness engulfed my body. Getting ahold of myself, I swam to shore as fast as I could. Burning pain engulfed my body, but I forced myself to endure it.
My body crawled onto the shore. I breathed heavily, spitting out water. I was in the lake longer than I thought I would be.
When I forced myself up, I saw a pair of men with fishing rods standing before me. Nets were at their feet. They had expressions of sheer terror on their faces.
These fishermen weren't here in the game. In fact, I don't think there were any fishermen in Shattered Dusk. There is one NPC who mentions enjoying fishing, but that's about it.
We should expect to run into people who aren't in the game later. The world we're in is much bigger than what Shattered Dusk showed. So, it's only logical that it is far more populated too.
"It's Princess Aithne!" one of the fishermen shouted.
"She's here to kill us all!" the other declared.
Crap. If we don't do something soon, we can forget about being stealthy.
"I'm not here to kill you," I said. "I just want to kill King Kilnore."
"She's going to kill the king, and..." the fisherman started.
Then, they both stopped talking.
"Oh, you're here to kill King Kilnore?" one asked.
The first major target for players in Shattered Dusk, King Kilnore, is the ruler of the first region of the game. He is hated by just about everyone, and his own subjects are plotting his death.
"Don't worry," the first fisherman said. "We did not see you here. There was just a really large fish."
"Oh, yeah, it made a big splash when it jumped up and came down," his companion agreed.
"Blub, blub," I mimicked a fish on land.
Utter shock crossed the fishermen's faces.
Oh, crap. Shattered Dusk only gives us glimpses of Princess Aithne's personality. I might have just messed up. Then again, would these random fishermen really know what she's like?
"You have...more of a sense of humor than I'd thought," one of the fishermen said.
He quickly started waving his hands around.
"I meant no offense, Your Royal Highness, I..."
"What are you talking about?" I asked. "I'm just some fish."
A sigh of relief escaped the fisherman's mouth.
"Well, we should be on our way now, back to fishing," he said.
"Alright. I'll go now too," I replied.
I moved off and started walking through the forest, making sure to stay behind bushes and trees as often as possible. It isn't easy hiding when you're an eight-foot-tall boss, but I manage to make it work. At least, I hope I did.
A bear leaped out of the wilderness. This was a small bear by this world's standards, only the size of a Kodiac bear. It was an enemy that would tear apart players in the starting area.
My sword swung. One moment, there was a bear. The next, two halves of a bear were lying on the ground. I stood there for a few moments, just gazing at the corpse.
Why am I standing here? You see, in Shattered Dusk, enemies disappear if you kill them. I'm trying to find out if that was a gameplay mechanic or an actual part of the world.
I tapped the dead bear with my foot. It moved slightly but didn't disappear.
It's a gameplay mechanic. That also means that I'm probably going to have to butcher this bear if I want to get its drops.
Gazing out into the distance, I saw the castle I was going to on a hill far away.
We don't have time for that. Let's keep moving.
I walked through the forest for what felt like hours, burning pain flowing through me, increasing with every step. Eventually, I reached its edge. Before me was a vast field with several farms scattered across it. A town was in the distance. And the castle was even further in the distance.
That's a lot of distance to cover. I won't be able to go with a stealthy approach. I'm not sure how many of King Kilnore's men I could take, and I'd have to fight dozens of them if he found out I was here. I'm also really starting to feel Princess Aithne's burning. I need a rest.
That's when I saw a carriage passing by. It was filled to the brim with hay. I waited until it had passed by my position. Then, I tip-toed over, staying behind the vehicle.
I moved into the hay when I got close enough. The entire carriage lurched back, the back end pressing down from my body weight.
Oh, right, I'm an eight-foot-tall boss character wearing armor. I probably weigh a lot.
"What the hell's going on?" the guy driving the carriage called out. "Did one of the wheels break?"
He got out of the vehicle and walked over to the wheels. The guy inspected them.
"They don't seem broken, but they're pretty low to the ground. Maybe something fell in the hay?"
Looking up, the guy scratched his head.
"That's weird. It doesn't look like anything's up there. Maybe some bird monster died and fell in?" he questioned.
The carriage driver moved over to the hay and started parting it. I pointed my sword right in his face. He froze in his tracks.
"Shhhh," I whispered. "I'm here to kill King Kilnore."
A grin crossed the driver's face.
"Oh, I got ya," he winked. "Don't worry. I'm delivering this here wheat to him."
The man got back in the carriage's driving seat. He whipped the reigns up and down. Then, the horses took off with a slight lurch and at a fairly slow speed.
"You don't have to worry about being attacked by monsters. Everythin' on the road works for King Kilnore. Well, except that titan, but she only attacks Deathless and King Kilnore's soldiers," he explained.
"That's good," I said.
"I can get you to the gate, but not much further. King Kilnore's soldiers stab any cart coming through with spears to make sure no one's hidin' in it. They don't like the king any more than we do, but he also pays them. So, you won't be able to convince them to just let you kill him. 'course, you'd better actually kill him. I'll be in a world 'o trouble for takin' you to his castle if you don't."
That makes things complicated. We'll need to figure out some way to get past King Kilnore's guards. I can think of a few options.
First, we can fight our way past them. None of them individually stand a chance against us, and we might be able to break through them before they can overwhelm us with numbers. But we might not be able to. And we have to worry about our burning.
Another option is telling King Kilnore's soldiers that we're here to talk to him. We didn't come here to kill King Kilnore, after all, just get the ring that'll help us resist fire. I don't like our chances of being able to talk things through with him, but we could at least get a lot closer through negotiating.
Our third option is the worst. It's pretending that we're a traveling performer who just happens to look exactly like Princess Aithne. I have no faith in this option working at all.
So, what'll it be?