Wallace, Vithium, and Tristan emerged within a small grove of trees. A bubbling brook cascaded down a few rocks to their left, emptying into a small pond behind them. It was mid-morning. Birds chirped in the trees, a few butterflies fluttered by, and bees buzzed between wildflowers. It was a beautiful morning, and the group was here to kill a baby.
The village wasn’t visible from where they stood, but they followed a path out of the small grove and saw a modest collection of buildings a mile away in a valley. Wallace didn’t like the long walk, hoping this would only be a short detour. Anyone doing this mission behind them would move straight from the Hamley estate to the druid’s home, skipping this stop.
Wallace didn’t know of another use for this town in the game, and it was likely here only for this secret purpose of finding another Hamley offspring. The mile walk was probably on purpose, so any player attempting this portion of the module would have lots of time to ponder their actions. That is precisely what Vithium used the walk for.
“So,” the monk said, falling behind with the slower paladin as Tristan led the way, “no one else has tried this yet?”
Wallace shrugged. “Not that I’m aware of.”
“Then how did you hear about it?”
Wallace gestured to the buildings ahead. “That town is real. It exists in the game outside of this module. I believe access to the travel node we just used is only possible if Tristan puts it on your map, but anyone can walk here if they take the time. Players constantly search the realms for places like this, knowing that secrets abound. Someone found this village, and they discovered a priestess with a child. They did a little digging and found out who the father was.”
The monk nodded. “So they figured killing the child was an alternative path for this module without trying it. We are the first ones who are actually going to do it.”
“WE aren’t going to do anything,” Wallace confirmed. “We are giving Tristan an option that doesn’t involve killing his brother that he grew up with. Do I want to kill a baby? No. I don’t. But is the baby even real?”
Vithium frowned. “Don’t give me that line that it isn’t a real child; it is only a clump of bits and bytes. Nothing in this game is real, but that doesn’t mean you go around killing things for fun.”
Now the paladin frowned. “Are we doing this for fun? We are trying to kill a demon that is hunting down and killing an entire family. If we do nothing, Thursa dies, then Tristan dies, then the baby dies. This game is designed to force you into making horrific decisions. You need to separate what happens in here from the real world. Playing this game is a form of consent to allow horrible things to happen to you. If you don’t like it, don’t play.”
The monk shook his head in frustration. “You sound like a naïve teenager. You can’t do these things and not have them impact who you are. Eventually, there will be consequences.”
Wallace allowed the insult to roll off her and changed the subject. “Speaking of naïve newbies, what is your story? You got to level 12 on your first go around? That is impressive. You had some moves in that last fight I have never seen before. Are you willing to share?”
Vithium was too new to the game to understand what a big ask that was and used their alliance to share his character sheet.
[https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc-toHTzZImiZbHiYN2jx-Vlu1zsgBK2Sz46k4lz-Ib_jjxfhnWVQgRoQX_aPJ00eV2o5Qe4OteDvFlWP3pC7Wo_mCNb9uZl5wWZKSmwkh5VkAh_GvjwjCbuSkpTJTgpnYXiguf4IAC8VzvCwEyJUtwJ=w784-h914-s-no?authuser=2]
“Your Damage Reduction and Resist scores are off the charts,” Wallace said. “How did you . . .” she paused as she took a moment to analyze the sheet further, but Vithium helped her out.
“The guy I got the VR set from gave me this build and told me it was broken. It is only available to monks, and most people don’t play them. Those that do usually focus on their Chi ability, but I haven’t touched mine.”
Wallace nodded, understanding what he meant. Monks could channel their mana as Chi when they attacked, using it for damage or casting debilitating spells on their opponent. A level 16 monk could kill a level 10 player in one strike with their Chi if they focused it right, but Vithium only had the base ability. Instead, he had taken eight different feats focused on his Resist score.
“Monks have a few setups to distribute their starting bonuses, and I gave myself +10 to Resist and +5 to Damage reduction. Then I took Magical Resist, which adds my Resist score to my Magic Defense. I took all four Resist training feats to give myself +15.”
Wallace whistled. His magic defense was as high as a level 18 priest.
“The Resist Damage feat lets me take half of my Resist score and add it to my Damage Reduction. I took that twice and then took Elemental Reduction to add my Damage Reduction skill back into my Resist score when defending against elemental attacks. I can only use the Resist Damage feat if I wear no armor, but it is worth it.”
“So you basically take no damage ever,” Wallace said, impressed with the combo and agreeing it was a little broken. Of course, he could do very little damage and had no spells. His Armor Class was worthless, but since he canceled the first 50 damage he received in each attack, you had to do a few criticals to get any damage through, and his first Divine feat was a free critical cancelation.
“But when you got hit by the acid attack before, you froze up,” Wallace said.
“Oh, that was my Strawman feat,” Vithium explained.
{I’m searching information on Monks,} Brodie said, {and there is no info on that feat. His god is Dolugna, who is a Guile deity for monks. There are like two other NPCs in the whole game who follow him. I don’t see anything on this unique feat. Gandhi must have given it to him special.}
“It’s not part of the build I am copying,” Vithium continued, “but it looked so cool I had to take it. I can create a statue of myself made of straw that can’t move or attack but looks very lifelike. If my opponent knocks down the Strawman, they are considered flat-footed, and I get a one-round bonus of +20 for my following action against them. I usually Grapple them, but if it is a weaker monster, I can cause a Death Save with a punch.
“I need to be careful how I use it,” he explained. “Since the Strawman can’t move, my opponent becomes suspicious if I just freeze up in the middle of combat. So I usually time it when they hit me with a massive magical attack that they assume will Stun or Paralyze me. I shrug it off with my Magic Defense, but they believe it when I don’t move afterward.”
“Impressive,” Wallace said, dismissing the screen from before her vision. She had been using the split screen ability to still see the trail. They were entering the village now, and Tristan moved toward the largest building. “Still, getting to level twelve with those skills seems difficult. You are the ultimate tank, but don’t deal much damage.”
“The guy who showed me the build also gave me a list of modules specifically designed for my character. I fight a lot of goblins and kobolds that swarm most other players, but they need four or five crits to do any damage to me. Plus, I face off against mages that throw acid and fire and save against their attacks. That’s how I got the Gilded Swan. When the dust settled a day after Jace liberated it, a lightning mage held it. He wasn’t smart enough to disable PVP within the brothel, so I challenged him, beat him, and then made sure no other players could fight each other.”
Vithium recognized the building they were approaching as a temple, bringing his focus back to the mission. “Your operator told me you needed someone to disable opponents or leave them Flat-Footed. I can definitely do that, but it seems a bit overkill for a baby, doesn’t it?”
Wallace sighed. “We don’t need it for the baby; we need it for the guardian the priestess will undoubtedly summon once she realizes why we are here. It will be a spirit warrior, which I can damage, but I will need criticals to kill it, and I don’t generate those very often.”
Vithium nodded, and the two quieted as they caught up to Tristan. He stood at the door to the temple, hesitating. “Is something wrong?” the monk asked.
“I can feel the divine presence inside,” he said, a strain in his voice. “It opposes me.”
“Your father was able to walk inside,” Wallace said, egging the young man on.
He grunted, still not believing his father would fall in love with a priestess of Custos. Wallace didn’t think the older man had fallen in love either. But he had still slept with the priestess. Eventually, the spellsword pushed past the threshold, and the two players followed him.
The temple, like the village it served, was small. Large stone blocks comprised its construction, giving the appearance of a fortress. Custos was a defensive deity, so it made sense. Wallace had considered following the god to become a tank but chose an undead hunter instead. A few pews were set before a small altar and pool of holy water. A hallway led to the back half of the building, but the trio must have triggered a presence spell, and they didn’t need to explore.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
A beautiful middle-aged woman with white robes, white hair, and a silver breastplate emerged from the hall and stopped short when she saw Tristan. “Oh my heavens,” she said. “It must be you. My name is Sollara. Your father said you would be too proud to come, but I knew you would if you had any of his sense. You must be here to learn more about . . .” her voice trailed away as realization struck her. In a panic, she searched for a calendar hanging on a wall. It listed the schedule of services, but she ignored that and focused on today’s date. Then she did some math. Her face was stricken when she turned back to Tristan. “It’s been a year, hasn’t it.”
“And three days,” Tristan added. He had no doubts about what his father had discussed now. He could also see why his father had been taken with the woman. There were many beautiful people in the realms, but this woman was genuinely concerned for Tristan, even though she knew he served a demon opposed to her god.
“That means . . .” Sollara thought a moment. “Your uncle, your oldest brother, and a sister.” Tears rimmed her eyes. “I am so sorry. I must tell you, your father regretted the deal he made every day of his life. He and I looked earnestly for a way to end it.”
“Is there a way?” Tristan asked. “My last brother will be killed tonight if I can’t stop it.”
The woman shook her head. “I’m afraid we never came up with a solid plan. Custos is powerful, but he does not offer us many offensive spells. I can strengthen your defenses, but only for a while, and from what I know of the beast that hunts you, it will not be enough. Your father had another plan, but . . .” she shuddered. “No. It is too horrifying to mention, and I’m sure he didn’t go through with it.”
Wallace knew what she was thinking. The vorpal sword was not Tristan’s standard weapon, and he had it hidden inside his trench coat while his usual blade hung from his belt.
“What about within these walls?” Tristan asked.
“The venator will be weaker here, but I cannot stop it. And I will not endanger the people of this village. The beast will kill anyone in its path to get to its prey, and I will not have that battle here. If you should fail, I will run. There is a temple where only . . .” Sollara paused again. “But you don’t know, do you? How could you? I only knew a month after your father died.”
A look of joy spread across the priestess’s face despite the grave situation, and Tristan couldn’t help but be drawn into it. “Tristan Hamley,” she said. “You have a sister. Would you like to meet her?”
“May I?” the young man asked.
The woman nodded, leading them back behind the altar and into the narrow hallway. A small nursery sat at the end of the hall. There wasn’t room for four adults inside, so the woman brought the child out, and they moved back into the sanctuary. “Her name is Ella. She is four months old, and she has your eyes.”
Tristan melted. He approached mother and daughter and looked down at the perfect little girl. She cooed at him, and their eyes met for the first time. She sneezed, and he laughed. “She is perfect,” he said with a tear in his eye. “You have somewhere to take her if I fail?” he asked, picking up on something she had started to say earlier.
Sollara nodded. “Yes, there is a temple far into the mountains, away from any villages. Only true believers can enter. You cannot, and neither can the venator. Ella, as my daughter, can accompany me. If the demon hunter goes a night without taking a life, it will be banished back to where it came from. Your sister will be safe.”
Ella started to cry, and Sollara spun away from the men to coddle her. Tristan turned to face Wallace and Vithium, a grim look in his eyes. “I cannot do this thing.” He pulled the vorpal sword from within his cloak. “Not even if my master demanded it. But I understand it must be done.” Wallace took the sword absentmindedly. “I will wait outside.” Tristan didn’t move for a moment, waiting for Wallace to confirm.
The paladin was shell-shocked. She hadn’t done anything especially horrible in the game so far. She had allowed herself to be tortured by Drescher. She had been forced to sacrifice a few townspeople in a zombie raid to complete a quest. A rat had asked her to kill a bunch of cats before being granted access to an underground crypt. Several little girls in that town had cried when they found their dead pets, but she had never raised a blade to a child.
She and her brother had avoided the sexual modules for obvious reasons, but she felt that when she was older, she wouldn’t have a problem with those either. She had assumed this would be the same. The baby wasn’t real. It shouldn’t matter. It was just a game. But she held the sword like it was a dead fish and knew she would never be able to lift it against the child before them.
Tristan recognized this hesitation and didn’t leave. Instead, he turned to Vithium. Wallace also turned. The monk had been the one to fight this plan the hardest, but his eyes had grown cold. “Really,” Vithium said. “I’m the one that has to do it? The one without any proficiency in bladed weapons? You guys are a bunch of pansies.”
Before them, Sollara turned around again, having successfully quieted Ella. She was smiling, but when she saw the sword hanging limply from the paladin’s hand, her eyes grew hot with anger. “I can’t believe he did it,” she hissed. “He promised me he wouldn’t.”
Tristan spun around at her voice and shrank back from the angry mother. “How dare you bring that into this sanctuary?" she said. Then she realized against whom they were planning to use the sword and hugged her daughter tightly to her chest. “You are worse than the demon,” she cried. “To hell with you all!” She cast a spell and retreated into the back rooms.
Up from the pool of holy water rose a pillar of white vapor holding a sword and shield. The creature didn’t have arms or legs, but that didn’t prevent it from running toward the trio and swinging its weapon. Tristan stood in front, and a shield formed from a bracelet on his left arm as he drew his regular sword with his right. He successfully blocked the first attack and returned in kind, his curved blade cutting clean through the misty guardian. He used his class skill to release a burst of fire from his weapon that momentarily turned the divine being into a pillar of steam, but it passed quickly, and it struck back, finding a path around the young man’s shield and cutting him across his sword arm.
“It can counter my magic,” Tristan cried, attacking it twice more but getting no better results. Eventually, the guardian cast a spell toward the demonic spellsword, and he flew across the room, propelled by a cloud of vapor.
Wallace was next, and she raised the sword in her hand, not having time to draw her axe. She also successfully blocked the guardian’s attack but didn’t have the attack skill to break through its defenses. Vithium helped her out, Flanking the spirit creature and attacking. His fists passed through the mist without effect, and even the Chi he released did less damage than it should. However, the Flanking bonus he gave Wallace finally allowed the paladin to hit the creature. Because of her ability to hit spirits, the sword bit into the guardian’s “flesh,” and it shrieked in surprise.
Tristan picked himself up from the far corner and tried another tactic, pulling a wand from his holster and launching a cold spell at the creature. This had more effect than the fire, and ice particles formed inside the mist. Vithium took advantage, feinting to get the guardian off balance, then punching with a +10 bonus. His fist hit solidly against the ice and did slight damage. Wallace didn’t need the extra help and struck again, stealing more health from the creature.
The guardian dealt with Tristan first, casting a Hold spell on the young man. The spellsword was halfway through another magic attack but froze in place. It then maneuvered so Wallace and Vithium were on the same side. Without a flanking bonus, Wallace didn’t hit the creature in the next round, and the guardian didn’t try to block Vithium’s first strike this time, letting the feint flail in the air. Without his bonus for the next attack, the real punch also failed. At the start of the next round, the Guardian cast a Hold spell on the monk, and he also froze in place.
Wallace was on her own as the creature focused on the only enemy left moving and attacked twice. The paladin raised her shield and didn’t bother striking back but tried to maneuver so she could get back in a Flanking position with Vithium. The spirit fighter recognized the tactic and turned to execute a shield bash on the monk to knock him to the ground and eliminate any bonus he might give.
As the shield connected with the still image of the man, it exploded into a shower of straw. Even though the guardian didn’t have a head, a perplexed expression formed in the vapor, and it was slow to react to the action around it. The real Vithium stepped out of nowhere and delivered a punch straight through where its navel would be and curled it up through its “heart” and into its “brain.” The fist did little damage, but he got a double critical and elevated his Shock ability to Dazed, giving all allies a +10 bonus against the guardian.
Wallace attacked next. With the creature Flat-Footed, it couldn’t raise its shield toward the paladin and could do nothing to stop the sword that pierced its “lower back” and went straight up its “spine” in a mirror of Vithium’s attack. Wallace rolled an 18 and received three criticals. She intended to put all of them toward damage but got a prompt she had never seen before.
Without thinking it through, Wallace picked the second option. She held the blade vertically within the guardian, and a rushing sound filled the room. The pillar of vapor came apart and formed a whirlwind around the weapon. The creature’s shield and sword vanished, its body tightening into a narrow tornado. Then, like water down a drain, it sucked into the sword's hilt, and a magical shock pulsed through the room.
Wallace dropped the weapon and fell back, stumbling into a pew and catching herself. Before her, the sword hit the stone floor, bounced about momentarily, and then lay still, glowing with a barely contained power. Tristan had watched everything happen in his motionless state, and when the guardian was defeated, he was released from the spell. He walked back toward the group, his eyes not leaving the sword.
Tristan reached down to take the weapon his father had given him, but it burned his hand with a white flame. “I can’t,” he said, stumbling back and holding his injured hand.
“Of course, you can’t,” Wallace said, bending down to pick up the weapon without issue. “It is infused with a triple portion of your master's divine enemy. We should be able to use it to kill the fiend that is after you. We don’t need to kill your brother . . . or your sister.” She added that last part and looked toward where the priestess had run. She undoubtedly would have sensed that her guardian had been defeated.
As if on cue, Sollara crept back into view, no longer holding her daughter. Wallace bowed toward her. “I apologize for the subterfuge, my lady,” the paladin said, her voice dripping with as much sincerity as she could manage. “We had to make you believe we intended harm to your child in order to inspire you to summon the most powerful guardian you could.” She hoisted the vorpal sword. “This should slay the venator.”
The priestess scowled at them, not fully believing it was all a ruse. “Leave,” she said. “Leave and never come back. I won’t be here if you do.”
The paladin shrugged her shoulders and bowed again. “As you wish. You have our thanks regardless.”
Tristan looked forlornly at the mother of his half-sister, but she gave no indication that she would change her mind. He had resolved to accept the child’s death, and now she was as good as dead to him. He turned to leave.
“Tell me that was your plan all along,” Vithium said as they left the temple. “You were never going to kill the child, were you?”
“You seemed to be on board,” Wallace bit back, still creeped out by the look that had entered the monk’s eyes when neither she nor Tristan was willing to do the frightful deed.
Vithium shrugged indifferently. “As you said, it’s only a game.”
{Speaking of the game,} Brodie spoke up. {It looks like your secret is out. All but one of the NPCs Jace released have been identified, and it isn’t yours. A line is forming outside the bookshop in Mizzeray. I don’t know how many have already made it inside the module, but you better hurry.}
Wallace absorbed the information and told the group to hurry back to the travel node.