Arc 1:Introduction to the Sphere Chapter 2, Part 1: Dark Cultist Sacrifice

I’m falling down through a darkness more intense than anything I’ve ever seen or experienced before. Something grabs my hands and feet and stretches me while my body feels like it’s burning – that is how those victims of medieval torturers must have felt. I have no reference to anything and continue falling.

Xenotic Conversion

Body Conversion complete

Adding Fate subsequence and 10 Fate

Transfer complete

Xenotic Conversion Complete

Suddenly there is light and I land on something uneven. I’m lying with my back on something a bit squishy, warm and wet, and above me Iooms an old man in a black cowl. One of his raised hands holds a bloody dagger, the other raises something that looks like a still bloody heart, but one that seems to contain a metal ball as well as flesh. He looks surprised at me.

“Wha…”?

I try to get away, but my hands and feet are bound somehow.

Danger Detect – automatic Fate modification.

4 Fate used – 6 Fate left

There is some disturbance somewhere in the room. Loud shouting and alarm cries. But before I can understand what’s happening, the face of the old man changes and becomes determined.

And before I can do anything, the dagger crashes down.

PAIN

Critical Damage – Heart pierced

Fate activation of boosted [hidden], organic regeneration begins.

Low Need – Fate modification for [hidden].

4 Fate used – 2 Fate left

Everything goes dark…

…..

I’m groggy, and something is hitting me. Everything hurts and heat waves go through my body. Someone is holding my arms in a painful grip. I see two men above me, and when I try to move one slaps me in the face while the other keeps hitting my legs and abdomen.

“Stop it – Help, Help, somebody Help” I try to shout.

Help System activating

Sphere System HELP

Welcome to the Sphere System Help Segment

This system can be activated at any time by concentrating on [Help]. If that is no longer necessary you can change this configuration under [History/Log].

We hope that your life in the sphere will be long and productive or full of challenges depending on your personal preferences.

To ensure this we made the system that will manage your existence as simple as possible – you really should not need such a help because everything should be self-explanatory.

Basically you can call up any of the management screens by concentrating on their name, like [Status]. If you concentrate on any word in any screen, it will bring up an explanation as well – it’s so simple that any idiot can use this.

If the system itself has any question for you – like asking how you want to proceed, then just think the answer and the System or the Gods will handle the rest.

What? I can’t see anything anymore? What idiot is responsible for this? All I can do is to listen to try to figure out what’s going on while being slapped around and while my body burns.

There is a woman speaking somewhere in the room. “Markus, Hel’kor – finish that and let’s get out of here. The City Watch can arrive any minute now, and I don’t want to sit through a week of bureaucracy just for this small bit of loot.”

I hear the two men standing up and feel how they grab the chains around my wrists and ankles. One of them speaks “These chains are magical, they should be worth something as well – but the other things in her inventory are bound.”

My arms and legs fall down, released from their chains. Everything hurts and I hear steps leaving in some distance.

Everything still hurts as hell, but slowly the burning sensation begins to fade.

organic regeneration complete.

Ability [hidden] cancelled.

Health 1/5 stabilized.

I finally get rid of these screens and look around – some sort of medieval stone hall with an altar-like block next to me, no windows. I have to try and stand….

What? My body? Why do I have the body of a woman? What is going on?

There is a lot of blood on the body I see when I look down, and when I try to move my arms, the feminine looking arms do that. Grabbing the large boobs hanging on the body also feels as if I touch my own body. Somehow and for whatever reason that bastard changed my body into a woman.

I lie down again – the stone is cold but I can’t process all what’s happened to me.

…

After a few more minutes while I hear steps approaching. Three man in some sort of uniform come from the door. The uniform looks like a variant of medieval light armor with several badges – could this be the city watch that the woman mentioned?

One of the men starts going around the room while the other two approach me. One of them steps to the side while the third one looks at me.

“You are on an official crime scene under investigation by the city watch. Please share your background and gallery with Constable Miller so that we can determine your reason for being here”.

Constable Miller of the Blackfield City Watch wants to access your data.

Share YES/NO?

“Huh???”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Attention please. You are found on a crime scene and we need to check for your part in what happened here. Failure to share your info will require us to arrest you as a suspect for more detailed questioning. I will not ask again – please share your data with Constable Miller now!”

“Uh – yes?” What does he even mean with this question? I’m very confused.

The other man (Constable Miller?) suddenly speaks up. “You can calm down, Sergeant. She has been almost completely [blank]ed – no background or titles, Level 1 with zero XP, no type or primary, useless secondary – the full [blank]. There are only two memories in her gallery at all.”

“The first memory is the moment the adventurers disrupted the ritual – with her and a second girl on the altar and the High Summoner ready to sacrifice her. And the second memory is of the adventurers gangraping her. But she still has something in her inventory that wasn’t looted – looks like it has been bound to her.”

 The first man suddenly looks a lot less threatening at me and crouches down.

“Hey, sorry – you’re probably confused at the moment, but sacrificing people to demons is not something we can allow to happen in our country. I’m Sergeant Zeertan of the Blackfield City Watch.  Please help us sorting this out, that way we might even find out who you are or were.”

He then somehow grabs into the air and a small box with several crystals appears from nowhere. He takes the crystals and touches them to my skin while murmuring to himself “not on the list of missing citizens, no missing servant, no runaway slave, not on the wanted criminal list either – sorry, you’re not on any of our search lists.”

“OK, can you tell us what you have in your inventory and why the adventurers didn’t loot it? Oh, Right – you probably don’t remember how to use the Sphere System. Concentrate on the word [Inventory], it will pop up a screen showing your primary inventory. Then grab into one of the slots to take out what you see and we can check it.”

Ok, that sounds easy even if it’s confusing – am I in some form of Matrix-like online game?

[Inventory]

That’s how I look like now? A hot, big-titted super model with green hair? Don’t think about it Martin, you don’t have time for a breakdown…

Below my picture are twelve boxes labeled "Primary Inventory" - no secondary in sight. Eleven of the boxes are filled, with two objects filling two slots each. What is that? It's labelled "?Harem Belt?"?

I’m holding up a belt with some transparent gaze in place of a loincloth. As I concentrate on it an information window pops up.

Item: ?Harem Belt? [Not Identified]

Item Rank [Low] Set Item of Set ?Harem? (0/10 Equipped) Equipment Slot Belt Description Two ornamented golden bands hold together by a golden clasp with a large blue gemstone form the belt, but three transparent veils hang from it.

Value Unidentified Abilities

* Add two Attachment slots (only usable for items of [High] quality or value)

* Blocks Equipment Slots [Pants] and [Trousers/Skirt]

* [Bound Property to N/A]

* Cannot be lost

* Cannot be stolen

* Cannot be dropped

* Cannot be sold

* Cannot be placed in seconday inventory

* Cannot be placed in astral inventory

And as soon as I close that window, another one pops up.

[Xenotic] ability triggered

Identify skill learned

Identify Item (limited) +1 (0/100)

Then the City Watch Officer speaks to me again.

“Please try to drop the belt – it will go back into your inventory instead. Looks like someone really pulled a number on you with that set, because it’s almost worthless and can only either be equipped or block your primary inventory. But I don’t have time to explain everything to you, sorry.”

Without help I’ll be lost here, no matter what. I try to look meek. “Please Sergeant Zeertan, I don’t know anything and need help for everything.”

Manual Fate Manipulation attempted

“Please have pity with me and help me where you can”

 2 Fate used – 0 Fate left

Disabling Fate subsequence

Grmbl – that was not what I wanted, but perhaps it’s for the best even if it removed the last Fate Points.

One of the other two man who had been looking through the room during this approaches and speaks:

“One moment of your time, Sergeant. According to her memory there were eight cultists, but we have only six corpses. I have identified one of the missing summoning assistants as a citizen, but I don’t have anything on the guest who only watched the ritual and who is also missing. The ritual circle itself has some variations that I’ve never seen before – besides the bothering fact that it had two people as sacrifices.

The high summoner still wears a contract ring, but it’s broken and worthless and doesn’t even tell us the name of the demon they wanted to summon anymore. That’s all we can say at the moment.”

Zeertan looks at me deep in thought for a while before he takes some items from his inventory again.

“There is a standing reward for proven identification of any demon cultist. I could simply pay you that in coins, but I think it’s better for everyone if I give you the reward as services from the town. That way you'll get slightly more value while the treasurer don't have to part with cash.”

“This is a simple map of Blackfield. If you concentrate on it, this map will show you your current position for a few days before its power is lost. If you touch any of the stamps I now place, it will guide you to the building where you get the service mentioned for free.”

“This stamp is to the city healer for a single [limited] healing for your wounds. These three give you three days of locked single room at the guard-contracted inn. Here are three stamps for three hours in the City Archives – make sure to tell the archivist that you have been [blank]ed and need an explanation for everything. “

“With this, you also have the city tax for visitors paid for seven days – that is how much time you have to find and register for any work. Additional days would be 10 copper per day for visitors or 1 copper for contracted non-citizen workers.”

“The last stamp is for one of the second hand dealers – he sells and buys everything” (was there a wink from the sergeant’s eye?), “and that stamp gives you a value of 40 copper in wares from him, for example a backpack or some tools.”

A quest has been placed

“get your rewards for identifying the cultist” [Very Low Quest]

Please open your quest screen to learn details

Then he takes out a small black band with a badge on it.

“Now this is a multi-purpose City Lock, and that is non-negotiable. We use it to protect critical witnesses as well as probable suspects. While wearing it you’ll look as if you were wearing nondescript clothing and no one will remember any details about your face either, but you won’t be able to leave town and have to report to the city watch in two days to have it removed. We’ll go into some more questions on what you remember and get a copy of those two memories then.”

When the sergeant closes the band at my throat, a window pops up.

A quest has been forced on you

“Report to Citywatch Headquarters for Interview” [low quest]

Please open your quest screen to learn details

He looks around and gestures to his two men. “Looks like that’s it, we’ll leave the rest to the cleanup crew. Let's go.”

“But Sergeant, regulations require us to…”

“Doesn’t matter, Constable Olgren, the adventurers obviously already looted everything of value. Let’s go, the cleanup-crew should arrive here in an hour or so.”

The men leave the hall to the staircase visible through the entry doorway.

You have received a timed quest Loot the Ritual Hall

Questline The Dark Cult of ???

Details Sergeant Zeertan has given you the opportunity to search and loot the ritual hall for any hints and valuables that might be left after the adventurers looted it (and blame that on the adventurers). This seems to be non-standard procedure and you should better be away from here before the next group of the citywatch, the cleanup crew, arrives. Time Remaining

67:37 Minutes Rewards

* Loot (optional)

* Hints (optional)

* 40 XP

Failure Condition Be inside the building when the cleanup crew arrives Failure Penalty Loot taken away, arrested and imprisoned until interviewed