[Become Invisible duration remaining: 4:25]
[Current Visibility: 0/300]
[Notice: You’re over encumbered. Please check your inventory.]
Less than four and a half minutes left of invisibility, and with a near-naked kobold guard pacing around her, looking for his stolen armor. The only prudent thing for Isabelle to do at this point was to see if she’d be able to craft the guard armor from kobold style to human. Isabelle knew she could craft fast, remembering when she made her giant spider armor in the dungeon, so it wasn’t that much of a long shot to hope to do the same at this point. Isabelle thought ‘Open Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (kobold) crafting menu.’
Crafting
Item
Craftable
Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (kobold)
Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (yuan-ti)
Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (warforged)
Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (orc)
Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (human)
Isabelle had absolutely no idea what those other races were, other than orc of course, but she was thrilled that human was on the list.
Isabelle focused on ‘Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (human).’
[Craft ‘Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (human)’ out of items ‘Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (kobold)’ and ‘Steel Dagger’? This cannot be undone.]
[Y/N]
So Isabelle had been right to hold on to her steel weaponry. She thought yes.
[‘Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (kobold)’ taken from player Isabelle inventory]
[‘Steel Dagger’ taken from party member Tahsi inventory]
[Crafting ‘Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (human)’]
[…]
[…]
[…]
[Crafting complete]
[‘Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (human)’ added to inventory]
[Achievement Unlocked: Change an armor’s race status with crafting]
Fuck yes! If Isabelle had known it’d be so easy to change an armor’s style from kobold to human, she would’ve never let Tahsi hold on to Kolti’s badass armor. But Isabelle could be bitter about Tahsi later, after she’d saved him from the hanging. And to get to that point, Isabelle just had to do what she did to the Cloud Reach guard helmet for the armor. She thought, ‘Open Cloud Reach Guard Armor (kobold) Crafting Menu.’
Crafting
Item
Craftable
Cloud Reach Guard Armor (kobold)
Cloud Reach Guard Armor (yuan-ti)
Cloud Reach Guard Armor (warforged)
Cloud Reach Guard Armor (orc)
Cloud Reach Guard Armor (human)
Isabelle was irked by the fact that the human armor was always listed last, but whatever. It just made her feel like a second-class Beaubintian is all. Isabelle focused on ‘Cloud Reach Guard Armor (human).’
[Craft ‘Cloud Reach Guard Armor (human)’ out of items ‘Cloud Reach Guard Armor (kobold)’ and ‘Steel Greatsword’? This cannot be undone.]
[Y/N]
Looked like Isabelle was going to be out one greatsword after this. Oh well.
[‘Cloud Reach Guard Armor (kobold)’ taken from player Isabelle inventory]
[‘Steel Greatsword’ taken from party member Tahsi inventory]
[Crafting ‘Cloud Reach Guard Armor (human)’]
[…]
[…]
[…]
[Crafting complete]
[‘Cloud Reach Guard Armor (human)’ added to inventory]
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 3:53]
[Current Visibility: 0/300]
[Notice: You’re over encumbered. Please check your inventory.]
Seriously? Still over encumbered? Isabelle opened her inventory.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 82.5/79
Item
Traits
Staff of the Undead
+5 mana, +2 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Shield
+3 str, +3 const, +10 carry weight
Steel Gloves
+1 str, +3 damage, +1 carry weight
Longbow
+3 damage, +1 carry weight
Orcish Longbow
+5 damage, +1 dx, +1.5 carry weight
Steel Mace
+7 damage, +4 carry weight
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
Okay, she only had to get rid of three and a half carry weight. Why did the system keep trying to get Isabelle to drop all her cool necromancy stuff, though? There was no way Isabelle was doing that. That steel mace, however, had stopped looking so attractive in Isabelle’s eyes. She focused on it and watched as it fell to the ground, clattering in the alleyway.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 78.5/79
Item
Traits
Cloud Reach Guard Shield
+3 str, +3 const, +10 carry weight
Steel Gloves
+1 str, +3 damage, +1 carry weight
Longbow
+3 damage, +1 carry weight
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Orcish Longbow
+5 damage, +1 dx, +1.5 carry weight
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
Much better. Isabelle sighed in relief.
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 2:46]
“Holy shit, did that steel mace just appear out of nowhere?!” said the near-naked kobold guard, shivering as he picked up the weapon and inspected it. “I must be dreaming. There is no way all this crazy shit is actually happening. It’s just like all those dreams about going to the guard academy exams in my underwear.”
Isabelle snickered.
[Current visiblity: 10/300]
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 2:31]
“Who’s there? Who just laughed at me? Am I being pranked?” the kobold asked, looking around himself aimlessly.
[Current visiblity: 0/300]
A fully dressed kobold guard walked up to the near-naked kobold and set a gloved hand on his quivering shoulder.
“Hey. Mugro. What the hell is going on with you, man?” asked the clothed kobold guard. “Why aren’t you wearing anything? Are you on drugs or something?”
“No, I’m not on drugs, Etle, I swear! I just, I was eating a scone, and then I woke up, and all my clothes were gone,” said Mugro.
“Really?” said Etle, scratching his chin with suspicion.
“Yes, really! I looked around everywhere for them, and I never found them, and then this steel mace here just dropped out of thin air!” said the near-naked kobold, holding up Isabelle’s discarded steel mace. “And then, and then I heard someone laugh at me!”
“You know, Mugro, maybe the day shift isn’t for you after all. Messing with your sleep schedule obviously has messed with your mind a little bit. Listen, your shift’s over now, so why don’t you just go home, sleep this one off, and we’ll talk to the commander tomorrow, okay? And please. Wear your armor,” said the other guard.
“Oh, okay. I’ll wear something, but I don’t know if I’ll be getting my armor back. I really do think it’s gone,” said Mugro, hanging his head and walking away.
[Current visiblity: 0/300]
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 1:48]
Shit. Isabelle had wasted enough time watching those kobolds talk, as entertaining as it had been. She decided to go ahead and equip all her guard clothes. She opened her inventory.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 78.5/79
Item
Traits
Cloud Reach Guard Shield
+3 str, +3 const, +10 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (human)
+2 hp, +1 str, +4.5 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Armor (human)
+3 hp, +4 str, +8 carry weight
Steel Gloves
+1 str, +3 damage, +1 carry weight
Longbow
+3 damage, +1 carry weight
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
Hey, that was smart. The system included her longbow in there, since she didn’t have that Steel Greatsword any more. She’d originally stolen that longbow from the Cloud Reach guard, too, so it was sure to work for her disguise.
[Cloud Reach Guard Shield equipped]
[+3 str]
[+3 const]
Wait a fucking second. A three constitution modifier from the shield? Isabelle looked at her inventory again.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 78.5/92
Item
Traits
Cloud Reach Guard Shield
+3 str, +3 const, +10 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (human)
+2 hp, +1 str, +4.5 carry weight
Cloud Reach Guard Armor (human)
+3 hp, +4 str, +8 carry weight
Steel Gloves
+1 str, +3 damage, +1 carry weight
Longbow
+3 damage, +1 carry weight
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
Damn it. Isabelle hadn’t even thought about the fact that what she was wearing could change some of her stats. What a joke. Still, she would’ve had to craft the helmet and armor to fit her, anyway. It was just frustrating.
[Cloud Reach Guard Helmet (human) equipped]
[+2 hp]
[+1 str]
[Cloud Reach Guard Armor (human) equipped]
[+3 hp]
[+1 str]
[Steel Gloves equipped]
[+1 str]
[+1 damage]
[Longbow equipped]
[+3 damage]
Isabelle would just have to remember to equip her orcish longbow if she actually had to fight anyone, since it had better stat bonuses.
[Current visiblity: 0/300]
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 0:54]
Isabelle walked out the back of the alley, down the side street and through another alleyway that spit her out right by the edge of the bridge over the river. She decided to go ahead and crouch instead of heading over the bridge at that moment, as her special ability was sure to expire soon.
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 0:14]
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 0:08]
[Become Invisible duration remaining: 0:02]
[Become Invisible has expired]
Isabelle stood up. Then, she thought ‘Mirror Me.’ It was time to see her disguise.
Her first thought upon seeing her mirror image was that it was actually very convincing. Isabelle looked like a tried and true member of the Cloud Reach guard, though her humanness would surely still make her stick out a little. Her shield bore the red and yellow globe emblem of Cloud Reach, as did her armor. Isabelle was upset to see that a bit of the lower part of her mouth was left uncovered by the helmet, but she felt confident that it wasn’t enough to make her recognizeable as the wanted convict that she was.
Satisfied, Isabelle stopped focusing on her mirror image and it faded away. She walked towards the bridge, and headed down it. The sun had just set, the sky was turning from pink to purple, and more and more lights were popping up around town. Thres was coming to life, and Cloud Reach was starting to bustle and hustle.
Isabelle passed a couple common people, most of them kobolds, as she headed down the bridge into the South Ward. None of them paid her much mind, though a couple did comment to the side that it was uncommon to see a human guard in Cloud Reach.
[Recognized: 0/100]
Perfect. As long as Isabelle kept that meter at a zero, she was happy. As Isabelle entered into the South Ward, she saw that many of its buildings were not exactly well kempt, and there was a disproportionate amount of litter strewn about. However, some of its buildings were extremely ornate and colorful, and Isabelle saw more brightly and uniquely dressed passersby on this side of the bridge than she had seen anywhere else in Cloud Reach, or really anywhere in Thres. There were painted murals on some apartment walls. There was music playing in the distance. Isabelle found that she kind of liked the South Ward.
“Hey, are you the new guard?” asked a voice.
Isabelle almost jumped. She turned around to see a Cloud Reach guard standing next to her. This guard was, unsurprisingly, a kobold.
[Recognized: 0/100]
“You know—” said the guard, “—I really wasn’t expecting a human. But I’m sure the guard was happy to find anyone on such short notice, especially after that last guy totally cracked up. Ended his shift almost completely naked. What a weirdo. Anyway, I’m assuming they sent you down here to help us with tonight’s hanging?”
Wow. So this guard thought Isabelle was the other guard’s replacement? That was too good.
[Speechcraft attempt: mislead]
“Yes, I’m here for the hanging,” said Isabelle. “What would you like me to do?”
[Speechcraft succeeded]
[Achievement unlocked: impersonate a guard]
“I’m glad to hear that. You can help by following me, I’ll take you to the holding facility where we keep the prisoners ’til it’s hanging time and show you around, then you can help me and a couple other guards get the hanging stage set up later, once it’s getting closer to the big show,” said the guard. “Oh, and I’m Higla, by the way.”
[Speechcraft attempt: decieve]
“Nice to meet you, Higla,” said Isabelle. “I’m Isa—er, I’m Illiana.”
[Speechcraft succeeded]
“Illiana, huh? You humans have such weird names,” said Higla. “Alright, Illiana, follow me.”
Isabelle wondered why exactly some of her speechcraft attempts said mislead, while others were deceive. Mislead seemed more likely to succeed, too.
[Clarification: A speechcraft attempt to ‘mislead’ is when you say something that can technically be interpreted as ‘true,’ but are generally misrepresenting your own intentions in order to trick the person you’re practicing speechcraft against. Conversely, a speechcraft attempt to ‘deceive’ is different because when you attempt to ‘deceive’ you are outright lying to them in order to trick them. This requires more effort and energy, and is as a result more difficult and likely to fail. That said, a successful deception will also level up your speechcraft faster than a successful mislead attempt. Along with that, an unsuccessful deception attempt can have worse consequences, whereas an unsuccessful mislead attempt can often be chalked up to a misunderstanding.]
Well, that made enough sense. Isabelle felt a little more confident in her speechcraft now, she felt like she had a better idea of what she was working with. She decided she’d try and stick with mislead attempts from now on, as much as she could. Of course, she was stuck calling herself ‘Illiana,’ but at least that had worked.
Higla lead Isabelle through the main courtyard of the South Ward and down a quieter side street. It got darker and more sinister looking the further they walked.
“Yea, I know it looks grim here,” said Higla. “Supposedly one of the guards was going to pressure wash these buildings about a month ago, and that never happened. Maybe tomorrow you can do that, Illiana. I’ve always heard humans were really good at cleaning things.”
Isabelle held her tongue, though she resented Higla assertion that humans were good cleaners. Isabelle hadn’t forgotten what it was like back in the world where she came from. She remembered her own dorm room. Good cleaners her ass, Isabelle figured.
Further down the street they walked. Eventually, Higla took Isabelle to the back of a tall, stone building.
“This is where we hold our prisoners. Access is hidden to the public for obvious reasons, so don’t show anybody this,” said Higla. She walked forward to the back of the building and hissed an incantation. A rectangular section of the stone slid away, revealing a dark doorway. “Before you go forward, let me teach you the incantation. We can’t have any of the guard getting stuck in there, even if you are a human. That’s just unprofessional.”
“Okay,” said Isabelle, trying to hide her excitement. She could hardly believe how well this was going.
[Higla is trying to teach you an incantation to open and close Prisoner Holding Center Door. Do you accept?]
[Y/N]
Isabelle thought yes.
Higla walked up to Isabelle and started hissing in her ear. It made the hair on the back of Isabelle’s neck stand up, and she shivered. Her fingers felt tingly. And she couldn’t move a muscle.
[Higla is teaching you an incantation]
[…]
[…]
[…]
[Incantation learned]
[You can now open and close Prisoner Holding Cell Door]
“Great job, you’re a fast learner,” said Higla. Higla then turned to the open doorway and hissed at it. The stones moved back in place, closing it up. “Now, go ahead and open it yourself. I need to see that you can do it before I let you in here. It’s Cloud Reach guard policy, we look out for our own here. As long as you don’t go around stripping down to your underwear on hired time, of course.”
Isabelle walked up to the stone wall and focused on it.
[Prisoner Holding Cell Door - Closed]
Isabelle wasn’t sure where to go from here.
[Clarification: You use incantations the same way you use keys, except incantations can’t be lost—once you learn them, you know them forever. Just think ‘open’ and you will hiss the incantation.]
Fair enough. Isabelle thought ‘Open’ while focusing on the stone wall.
Isabelle felt breathless as the hiss emanated from her mouth like a spray of uncontrolled vomit. The stones slid back and the doorway opened up again.
[Prisoner Holding Cell Door - Open]
That was a startling experience, but it had worked.
“Don’t look so nervous!” laughed Higla. “You did excellently. So many new guards struggle to hiss their first incantation. I’m really impressed with you, human. Now come on, let’s go on in here.”
Isabelle followed Higla through the doorway. It was dark and musty inside, reminiscent of Isabelle’s prison stint. Higla snapped her fingers and torches illuminated along the hall.
“Sorry, should’ve done that earlier, but I forgot,” said Higla with a chuckle.
Further they walked, eventually coming upon a row of barred cells.
“Today’s hangee is in this cell over here,” said Hegla, walking Isabelle over to a cell where through the bars she could see Tahsi slumped on his side, sleeping on the stone floor. His arms were bound behind his back with a thick rope. He looked haggard, and was dressed in what amounted to a burlap sack with holes for his arms and legs and tail.
[Speechcraft attempt: mislead]
“Wow,” said Isabelle. “Um, what did he do to get put up for execution?”
[Speechcraft attempt had mixed results]
Isabelle saw that, while Higla looked completely unaware that Isabelle had any ill designs, Tahsi had perked up a little at the sound of her voice. Isabelle suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
“Despicable stuff, Illiana, despicable stuff. Deliberately killing wildlife, destroying private and public property, committing manslaughter, disturbing the peace…but none of that awful stuff is what did him in,” said Higla. “You know what he did, Illiana? You know what got him up for execution? He refused to betray his human companion, his human criminal companion, who snuck out of our prison. That’s right, he committed conspiracy to commit crimes with a human repeat offender. No matter how much we tortured him, he remained adamant that he had no idea where his human criminal companion was, or what she was up to. Worse still, before she broke out, he wouldn’t even speak against her in a court of law! Through his denial, he committed one of the worst and most heinous of crimes in all of Thres. No offense to you, of course, Illiana.”
Isabelle felt like an awful person. Poor Tahsi. Poor Tahsi, who’d just looked up at her. He was looking intently at her. Isabelle didn’t know what to say. She was starting to feel trapped.
“Illiana, what’s the matter?” asked Higla.
[Recognized: 45/100]
“I-Isabelle?” Tahsi asked, his voice faint and rasping.
Isabelle’s lip quivered in fearful anticipation.