I’d like to tell you, that when greeted with danger I am cool, calm, and collected, even as I dragged into the depths of darkness. I’d love to do that, but it would be a complete lie.
As the limb covering my mouth slipped lower, I screamed, no doubt like the day my mother birthed me, whoever and wherever that person was. I yelled for help, and then further screamed in terror. At times the white-dressed woman accompanied me in a duet, which gave me a perverse feeling of joy that I’d not die alone, before those thoughts faded and I returned to yelling for help, for safety, for God or anything. Anyone.
I’m no hero. Someone needed to save me.
As time passed and I exhausted all the things to scream about, my brain concluded that I hadn't actually died, instantly that is. Despite my fear running riot, I remained alive as the demon half dragged, half-carried me away from Oro City, which had long since faded into the distance. A quarter moon gave a small amount of light to the never-ending gloom, by which I could see the hazy outlines of demons, as well as the trees, shrubs and grasses we passed, or the sandy earth they trekked over.
Sand? Not good. I’d walked across a large patch of sand on my way here. That meant we were heading to the canyon – while we were still alive.
The demons might have thought we were both dead, having given up on our screaming. For me, it seemed I was lucky to survive the initial attack. Whatever limb the demon affixed around my head and neck became hooked up in the collar of my duster preventing it from wrapping tightly around my throat. If that’d happened, going into the canyon would no longer be my bodily problem – although the jury was out on how my soul would have felt about it. Either way, the duster kept me alive.
I hoped the woman had simply passed out, or fear had clamped her mouth closed. She’d experimented more with her screams, mixing it up with sobbed prayers to the Lord to ‘shelter and protect her’, ‘or forgive her sins now at the hour of our death.’ Now I’ve got no problem with the first one, but why did it have to be the hour of our death?
No. We were not dead. And whether it was the prayers, or the way my glacial death meandered towards me, well, my brain snapped.
It’s bloody-well time to save myself.
God wasn't going to save me, nor a priest come to my rescue. In this nightmare, I needed to act if I wanted to see another day. I needed to do something, anything, to ensure my survival. It wasn't about being the hero; the guy who walked away from this nightmare took action for himself.
As I was carried along, I took a moment to gather my thoughts. The demons hadn't killed me yet, and that meant I still had a chance. Panic leapt through me once more as adrenaline surged, but I violently pushed it aside. Focus on the task. Focus on the task and move forward.
What did I know about the creatures that could be useful? They were relentless, bulletproof, and had otherworldly strength that defied reason. That yank had torn me from Pierre’s six-strength grip with relative ease. But they were not invulnerable. They bled, as I had seen earlier with the mass of bullets, and they certainly feared the light. Right there was a sliver of hope I could cling to – if I could get back to the light, I’d find safety.
I scanned my surroundings, my eyes adjusting to the oppressive darkness. We undoubtedly travelled towards the canyon, and that knowledge provided me with a slim window of opportunity to devise a plan. I couldn't afford to waste any more time acting helpless. The further we went, the further away from the light we were.
After a few minutes of frantic pondering, I came up with one option and one option only. I had a gun. I had bullets.
Shoot the demon. Shoot the other demons. Flee.
A solid approach.
But yeah, desperate. Still, if I could control anything, it was my right to decide that dying while fighting made more sense than just surrendering to the fear. I had to move forward.
I inched my hand towards my duster pocket. My heart stuttered in my chest as I weighed my chances. Killing the creature seemed like the best opportunity for survival, but I couldn't help but recall that it had shrugged off direct hits to many parts of its body. In fact, it’d been shot almost everywhere. The only place it hadn't taken a direct hit was…
The neck? Right behind that extendable limb only millimetres from strangling me. Could that be its vulnerability?
I had to work with it. What other choice did I have?
Get a bullet into its neck. Blow a hole in it. Hope for the best.
With my hands free, I reached into my duster for the gun. One chance. I couldn't afford to fumble, or a misfire. Don't drop the gun. Don't drop the gun. And then there was Emily’s sound advice. Don’t aim – jam it against the neck. Cock it quickly. The creature wasn’t sleeping, but…
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Pressing the revolver onto flesh I pulled the trigger.
The dark ground rose up to smack me in the face, which ironically made it easier to read the white writing running across my vision.
* You have been awarded 100 experience for killing a defiler. Surprising.
Congratulations, you have reached Level 2.
* 2 stat points are available to distribute.
Congratulations, you have gained the class: Arbiter.
* You have gained the skill: ‘Sanction’
Congratulations, your skill ‘Sunbather’ has evolved with your new class.
· Your +1 bonus to constitution has become permanent.
· You can now use the skill ‘Sunlight’
· Sunlight – Project sunlight from your veins and arteries of varying intensity. The projection uses sunlight essence charges, which are restored when in full sunlight.
o Sunlight essence: 20/20
CHARACTER INFORMATION: JACOB BOSMA
Class: Arbiter
Level: 2
Experience: 164/200
Health: 12/16
Essence: 13/13
Statistics:
(2 points to distribute)
· Strength – 1
· Dexterity – 1
· Constitution – 2
· Wisdom – 2
· Charisma – 0
Titles:
Traits:
· Outcast (-1 to charisma while trait is active)
Skills:
· Sanction – Grant titles imbuing attribute increases.
o Each imbued stat costs 7 essence.
· Sunlight – Project sunlight from your veins and arteries of varying intensity. The projection uses sunlight essence charges, which are restored when in full sunlight.
o Sunlight essence: 20/20
Bonuses:
My way to escape flashed before my eyes, bringing a glimmer of hope amidst the literal darkness looking to consume my soul. The answer was before me and I summoned it effortlessly, as if it were an extension of my body, or an arm that I could simply raise. Within me, a lurching sensation occurred, and like electricity surging through wires, energy rippled through my blood.
Answering my call, sunlight burst to life upon my skin, outlining the veins and arteries with a gentle radiance emanating along my hands, my face, and any other exposed area. It wasn't blindingly brilliant; instinctively, I knew the 20 essence I possessed was not a massive charge. Subconsciously the combination of brain and body decided to limit the light manifesting.
The demons didn’t seem to care how soft my sunlight shone, they recoiled instantaneously, their actions betraying a palpable fear. That same guttural voice the demon displayed earlier, ripped out of its body in a much higher pitch this time.
Yes, it’s your turn to be afraid, bastards.
Two visible defilers backed away, and in that moment where everything paused as one demon died, and I set myself aglow to startle everyone, I spotted her – the woman.
The demons retreated and I acted, throwing myself towards the woman and pulling her beneath my circle of light. I wanted to talk to her, to say something reassuring, but what reassurance could I possibly give right now? It needn’t have mattered anyway, as her eyes were fixed closed. Dead or alive, there wasn’t time to tell, and I didn’t have the opportunity to perform any treatment right now.
The defilers hesitated, recoiling but refusing to retreat entirely. A sinister looking demon, a blend of humanoid features and obsidian serpent scales, flicked it’s forked tongue at me and edge it’s way forward back towards the light – testing… testing to see what my light would do to it. It had a long-ribbed nose leading back to a set of razor-sharp fangs, and those same hypnotic black eyes that sought to suck me into a void. Jesus Christ, what in the hells?
I glowed, the woman remained tucked up under me, and the defilers decided to overturn their fear, and come back towards their prey.
‘Back the fuck off,’ I screamed at Serpenthead, willing my light to flare momentarily and waving my gun threateningly.
Serpenthead stuttered back several steps, and then started forwards again, this time with his partner, a disgusting fusion of human and boar. He was more hunched, more hulking, and had bulging muscles that looked capable of tearing a man in two. That’d be a terrible way to go, just as much as impaled on the two huge tusks extending from its mouth.
* New Quest: Save the woman (optional).
Optional. How lovely.
My brain ran on autopilot, driven by fear and a desperate need to survive. If I’m brutally honest, I’d already exceeded my expectations for what I could accomplish. My demonic kidnapper lay dead at my feet with a giant hole blown throw his neck.
Part one of the plan saw success. Now to enact part two. Once it was devised.
While the demons advanced, they were slow, and hesitant. Despite the low intensity of my light, I could see its magic working on them, and particularly on the blood of the demon lying dead a few paces beside me. Blood vapor drifted up like steam. That meant it was doing something – but I needed it to do a whole lot more.
I needed more light, and my struggling mind devised a clear solution for that.
Time to get naked.