“Fuck no,” Angelica replied without hesitation, her expression growing hard.

“...please?” I asked, growing uncertain at the apparent minefield I had just wandered into.

“Absolutely not.” Now Angelica sounded vaguely hurt.

“Mate,” Brand began quietly as he sat up, “Let it go. Given her history…”

“Shut up,” Angelica cut him off. Her tone was steady, maybe even gentle, but it had a foundation to it that implied any refusal to acknowledge and follow the instruction was simply not an option. She held my gaze, “I won’t attack the people I travel with. Stop asking.”

I wasn’t the most empathetic man, but even I could tell this was a touchy subject. I could also tell I need to back the fuck away from it. “Cool, but we need blood, a lot of it.”

“What for?” Angelica asked. She was clearly forcing herself to remain calm and collected.

“To control the lion’s aggression. They have… a thing for me.” I began. “That said, they also like to pile on to anything bloody. If we can get me to the highest level of the Bloodied conditions I hope to get the Snow Lions to focus on me to their detriment.”

“He does have a point,” Brand acknowledged. He lay back down on his bed.

After a very tense moment Angelica nodded, “Yeah, he does.”

“So, what now then?” I asked.

“We do it the smart way,” Angelica took the medical kit out of her inventory. She pulled out a needle, a tube, and a rubber tourniquet. She also pulled a bucket out of her inventory. It was a tin pail. That felt really appropriate for some reason. “Roll up your sleeve,” she instructed.

I unequipped the jacket and rolled up my sleeve. A quick wipe with an alcohol swab, and a small poke later, my blood was pouring slowly into the bucket. After a few minutes I realized this was going to take a lot longer than a minute. “What is the highest level of Bloodied conditions, I asked.

“Gore Soaked,” Brand said.

“No, there is one past that,” Angelica said. She was watching me and would check my pulse occasionally. “The Blood For the Blood God condition. You have to stay Gore Soaked for at least a week. That requires basically non-stop fighting for that whole time. It is a bad condition. Pulls mobs from all over the continent straight to you.”

“How do you know that?” Brand asked after a moment.

“I ended up with it during the demon incursion,” Angelica said. It wasn’t quite bragging, but it was close. “Once we got close to the Hellgate it was just a meat grinder. Anyone that survived that, got the Rip & Tear achievement.” She wasn’t bragging anymore, “It’s weird that somehow that was a simpler time. I knew exactly what had to be done.” She shrugged. “It’s in the past. No sense wanting to be sixteen again.”

“Level or years old?” I asked.

Angelica startled slightly, popping out of some memory. “Both. I have been at this for a while.”

Brand laughed. He heaved himself from the bed and slowly walked over to us. His pain was obvious. He sat down next to me with a sigh. “At that age, I was barely level ten. I had just become a Lieutenant. The sergeants would hide my map from me until I learned how to stop them from stealing it.” He pulled a bottle and three glasses out of his inventory. He poured each of us a generous portion. “Rest well, Knockoffs,” He said and took a swig.

They both looked at me. Ah shit… It’s not that I didn't want to share information about my past. Okay, I didn’t, but the thing is when compared to literal war, and fighting actual demons, my problems felt different. Not necessarily less, but there was a mundanity to my past. No point in being shy.

“At that age, I wasn't anything impressive. I mostly was just trying to survive. I had run away from… well, not home but my parents. I didn’t think it through. I nearly froze to death one night. Thank God Jo and Hank found me. They had a habit of collecting strays… or at least that is how they put it. That was a simpler and better time, for me at least.” I took a drink. It was good. It went down smoothly with the correct amount of burn. It also had a distinct taste… peat? I don’t know. I am uncultured.

“You doing okay with the blood loss?” Angelica asked.

“The regen is preventing any issues,” I replied, taking the off-ramp away from memory lane. “Do we have any oil or something to prevent this from congealing?”

Brand pulled a jar of industrial grease out of his inventory. “Will that work?”

I mixed some of the grease into the bucket of blood.

Craft Check… Successful!

Vitae of Tumult created

Vitae of Tumult

Made from the blood of a Titan Spawn this crimson grease inflicts the Gore Soaked condition on anyone. For ten hours it will also inflict the Blood Frenzy condition on any predatory mobs that perceive it.

Blood Frenzy

Anyone with this condition will have attack speed doubled but must attack the source of the condition until it or the bearer of this condition is killed.

Craft skill has reached trained level.

I tossed the bucket into my inventory with its contents going along for the ride. That would certainly pull agro, but I worried about my ability to cope with that much attention. Having the cats attack twice as fast would probably translate to the base mobs being able to claw through my health. The bosses could become an even greater issue. Those bastards could hurt me. “I think it may work too well, Blood Frenzy sounds like it could be overwhelming.”

“I think we may need to adjust tactics slightly,” Brand set his glass down, “I have been holding to less… traditional combat doctrines.” A combat shotgun, an assault rifle, and a damned grenade launcher appeared on the table. “If we are going to have an old-fashioned row, we might as well go for the full Monty.” He examined his tattered clothing and frowned. “It is less sustainable, but it is preferable to the alternative.”

We both looked at Angelica. She blinked at us, “Unlike you slackers, I have been giving this my all the whole time.” She took a drink. “For the most part.” She set the empty glass down.

Brand poured her another, “And the lesser part?”

Angelica hesitated, “You know how it is… if I escalate this too fast… the counter move could be worse than what we are dealing with.”

Brand scoffed, “Do you honestly expect to cause spectacle creep?”

The image of Celeste’s spears of light striking flashed in my mind. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Very well,” Brand sighed. His health bar was back in the green but he still looked awful. He pulled the bottle into his inventory and stood, “I am going to clean up and rest, would you be so kind as to keep watch?”

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“Yeah, I got it,” I said with a wave.

Angelica finished her drink. “Stay sharp.” She went to the other shower.

After a moment I stood and took another stab at it.

Blend In Check… Failed!

That was less than beneficial. What was watching for us? I spent about ten minutes trying to trigger either a Perception or a Notice check. No dice. What the hell was in here with us?

“Denise, I have questions,” I said.

“About what?” the intern asked behind me.

I turned to speak with her, “Did you stop time?”

Her eyes went wide and she pulled her phone out and pressed a button, “Yeah.”

I shook my head, “Is this going to work?”

Denise blinked at me for a few moments, “Don’t get mad, but how would I know that?”

“You gotta start studying this stuff more,” I admonished. “Are the snow lions going to just break through the barricades I made?”

Denise checked her phone. After reading something she sent a message to someone. Her phone pinged. She looked up at me, “Not likely. The base mobs won’t be smart enough to attack the barricades. Instead, they will try and move around or over. Bosses will be a crap shoot.”

“What if they are under the effects of Blood Frenzy?”

Denise smiled at having the answer to a question at hand, “They will attack the source of the condition exclusively, but they will get to attack twice as much.”

“So would they attack the barricades to get to me?” I pressed learning how these conversations go.

Denise looked very uncertain. She tried to eye her phone without appearing to do so. This dragged on too long and she realized it made her look dumber than just reading it, “No. They will select the source of the condition exclusively.”

That sounded like this could actually work. I just needed to double down on fighting defensively. That should free up Angelica and Brand to slaughter the cats. I would just have to enjoy that vicariously.

The door to the bathroom opened, and Celeste stepped out toweling her hair and wearing a large T-shirt and shorts. “Doug, are you stopping time?” she paused when she saw Denise. “What the hell is this?”

“Eep!” Denise managed. She took a step toward me. “Doug, help!”

“Are you talking with Narrators?” Celeste asked. She looked stunned.

“This is an intern,” I managed, gesturing to Denise.

“Oh, then we can just kill her,” Celeste said like the problem had been solved.

“Please don’t.” I cut in. “Denise is working for Wilson, but she is helping me learn the ins and outs of the system. Right, Denise?”

“Uhhh!” Denise sort of croaked. She was shaking and just staring at Celeste.

Celeste, deeply unconcerned with Denise, turned to me, “Doug, this is a terrible idea. She may be feeding you answers on how the world works, but she is also watching you and learning everything she can. Do you honestly think that she isn’t telling Wilson everything?”

“She has to be,” I admitted.

Denise gazed at me with horror.

“Is that any different from whatever other means he is using?” I continued.

Celeste suddenly looked uncomfortable. “That… is true.” she sighed, “You will need to keep your distance. Don’t let your guard down.” She pointed between Denise and me, “This setup didn’t work out well for me. It didn’t work out well for Angelica, either. I don’t think it works out well for anyone.”

“So you are just going to let us keep talking to each other?” I asked.

“I can’t give you the time you deserve, to teach you the things you should know,” Celeste admitted. “If you are going to do this, do not tell her about your goal, your core concept, or your quests. That is how they manipulate you.”

“Is that it?” I asked. I expected more… I don't know… anger.

She looked disappointed, “I’m not here to tell you how to live your life, but I would recommend instead of talking to her, you tell Angelica the whole truth about who you are. She will help you.”

“I…” I started but stopped. “Is it wrong that I just want to stay just Doug, her friend, and not be the Left Hand of the Titan?”

Celeste smiled, sadly, “Not really. Angelica is one of the few people that would actually get that. I still think it would be best to tell her.”

“I will after we get out of the dungeon,” I promised.

Celeste flashed a real smile, “I’ll hold you to that.” she turned and started walking back toward the shower, “I am going to wait for this to be over. Flexing through a time stop gives me such a headache. Be careful.”

Before she left I called after her, “I am failing Stealth checks in these rooms even when you and Brand aren’t watching.”

Celeste stopped cold. “I’ll pass it along. Keep quiet about this. Whatever is watching will be listening too. I’ll pass the important bit along, but keep your secrets until we are out of the dungeon.” and she left.

I turned back to Denise. She was sweating bullets, “You good Denise?”

“N-n-nope,” She stammered before asking, “You have a Divine Scale player with you?”

“Shouldn’t you know that already?”

“I didn’t do the research,” Denise managed her blue complexion to an unhealthy gray. “Could I go… go do that, now?”

“Yeah sure,” I replied, letting her go. She’d clearly had a big day full of mortal terror.

“...Thanks,” she said before vanishing.

I felt a small thrum as time started up again. The door to the shower Angelica was in, burst open. She was grinning at me. “Dude, are you and Celeste sneaking moments between time? Smooth.” She walked over and punched me on the shoulder.

“What?” I said flatly, very much not following her logic.

Angelica just laughed. “That is so perfect. You’re both shy and awkward.”

I began to follow the conversation. “Oh that. I… you’re not mad?”

Angelica’s expression turned a bit more serious. “Honestly, I am kind of relieved. I was getting concerned. Celeste tends to be a bit aloof. I was afraid she was getting isolated.” Her expression became even grimmer, “If you break her heart, I’ll break your legs.”

“That’s fair.” I replied simply, still supremely off balance.

Angelica smiled again, “Good for you.”

“Angelica, are we okay?” I asked.

She frowned at me, “Yeah. With regard to what?”

I felt something clench inside. This probably wasn’t a smart thing to bring up again, but I worried letting it fester could be worse, “All the stuff with Adora.”

Angelica laughed again, “Don’t sweat it, man. That sort of stuff happens all the time with those types around. It is always, ‘Oh no, our clothes are wet’ or “Oh no, there is just one bed,' or “Oh no there is just the one Tauntaun and the nights are so cold. I guess we will have to huddle together.’ It is always heavy-handed like that.”

Now the spirit of what Angelica said was important, but I have my priorities. “You have Tauntauns?”

“We have Star Wars references?” Angelica said, slightly confused before eyeing me suspiciously, “Have you seen any of the Hoth series?”

Uh-oh. I had crossed the fandom. I had only one option: go full sledgehammer, “No. I was more into Star Trek.”

Angelica looked sad, she closed her eyes and sighed, “I am not mad, I am just disappointed.”

I tried not to but laughed, “So, good then?”

Angelica thought for a moment, “Let’s turn this around. Doug, are we good? You don’t have any issues with what happened?”

I felt my face flush, “I’m not happy with what happened at Adora’s place.”

Angelica nodded, “Did you have any real choice in going there?”

“No, but once we were in there…” I started, only to be cut off an instant later.

“Did you want any of that to happen?”

“No.”

“So, you didn’t want to be there, you didn’t want any of that to happen, and I have no permanent damage.” she said checking points off on her fingers, “You good?”

“Yeah,” I managed.

“No problem, then.” She punched me on the shoulder again. “Don’t sweat the small stuff. Besides, I really want to tease you and Celeste for being all kissy-face in secret.” She stood, “Tomorrow we kill another miniboss. Get excited… except calm down and sleep instead. Meh. Good night.”

As Angelica went to sleep, I just sort of sat there trying to sort through my feelings, and not getting anywhere. Was Angelica right? Did Celeste have a crush on me? Holy shit, high school really doesn’t end. This shouldn’t bug me, but it did. I wasn’t good at this.

“Are you alright, mate?” Brand asked, appearing from seemingly nowhere. It definitely wasn’t just me navel-gazing to the point of losing sight of the world.

I jumped. That’s when things got weird. I hadn’t succeeded on a Notice check so i was surprised. That said I did succeed on the Willpower roll so my heart rate stayed completely level. I was still at 60 beats per minute. Ignoring that odd quirk of my new existence I leveled with Brand, “I was just sorting through the fallout of an encounter with Adora.”

“My sympathies,” Brand pulled the bottle out of his Inventory and poured me another drink. “Sort through it the best you can. Are you good for a watch? I would appreciate a night’s sleep.”

“Yeah, I got it.”

Brand nodded. But before he went to bed he said in a soft, serious voice, “Don’t let the gods define you.”