Xod lounged on the comfortable chair that was sat outside on the deck. The veranda was drenched in early morning light as he considered the recent inexplicable events in the world.
The Elder Dragon, Grat-ra’zun somehow forcefully evicted from his lair on Mount Arkais.
Lich King Ar’elith apparently somehow killed on the eve of his ascension.
Ar’elith’s disciple, Zolan, somehow murdered by person or persons unknown at the moment of his greatest triumph. Presumably the same person(s?) who had finished off Ar’elith.
The large number of high-level quests undertaken and completed by mysterious individuals in the Windrip region.
The recently re-activated and then forcefully de-activated dungeon of the Fallen Wyvern’s Keep.
The otherworlder [Hero King] Kallistus Kal invading and conquering everything he could see recently.
Not to mention the recent complete massacre of the Miststorm group. And there were thousands of them! Including Odell, the Monster of the Mist and his acolytes.
Xod was aware that the world was entering the Age of Calamity but this all seemed a touch…excessive. It also seemed that there were some extremely high-level individuals walking the world that must have been previously hidden. Something else that he had thought was well-nigh impossible. Most people, when they reached SS or SSS rank had continent-wide fame and status purely by dint of their phenomenal power and strength.
As he was wont to do, he really wished, again, that he hadn’t been yanked from Earth by the damned World System. It had tried to force him to become some kind of hero at first, like Kal. He had politely declined the honour, eventually accepted what might be considered a lesser Class and gone his own way.
He had wandered all over the planet Vacuos for decades, honing his skills and, perhaps more importantly, his Skills. Learning some of the tricks and loopholes of the System. Figuring out his place in this strange new world and how he could live simply and quietly.
He hadn’t really managed it unfortunately, but he had managed to avoid the fame, or more appropriately, the notoriety that came with being high-level.
Xod absently raised his right hand and idly activated the Skill [Sunrise Touch].
To a hidden observer watching him, it may have seemed to have been a trick of the morning light but Xod’s body briefly looked to be bathed in the bright colours of the dawn. That same observer may have marvelled at witnessing the older man suddenly sit up straighter and breathe in deeply, seemingly invigorated by the morning light and looking ready for the day ahead.
Xod suddenly turned his head and spoke conversationally, “I know you’re there. Generally, I don’t appreciate unexpected visitors. Why don’t you come out and explain why you’re watching me?”
There was a brief silence and then rustling from the towering, leafy trees surrounding the property.
A tall figure clad in dark clothing slowly walked out of the shadowy forest into the light, a sheepish look on her face.
“Hi, Xod! Long time, no see! How’s it going?”
He sighed.
“Sadira. I should have known. It was going well. Beautiful morning, isn’t it? What are you doing here?”
Sadira flashed a bright and entirely false smile, “I was just passing and thought I’d pay my favourite team-mate a visit. That’s not an issue for an old buddy, is it?”
Xod growled lightly under his breath and narrowed his eyes at her.
“We haven’t been team-mates since Drazyl, let alone friends. I’ve got no desire to go over it again, Sadira. Say your piece and leave, please.”
She quickly protested, “C’mon, buddy! You know that wasn’t my fault!”
Xod just gave her a flat look.
She coughed lightly and at least had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. “OK. Look, I accept that it may been, y’know, partly my fault. Definitely like, a bit of it. So. Yeah, sorry, man. We good now?”
“No, Sadira”, he said evenly, with no trace of the anger he was feeling in his voice. “No, we are not. You nearly got the whole team killed with your arrogance and double-dealing.”
“I’m a [Rogue], man! It’s practically part of the job description! Y’know if I see something shiny, I’m gonna do everything I can to liberate it from the previous owners!”
“Yes, but what you did was betray your team, set us up to take the fall and fled the Elven continent completely, leaving us to die.”
She looked down.
“You’re right. I was wrong and should never have done it. Can I least tell you why I’m here?”
He grunted impatiently, “I’ve already asked you to tell me that. Spit it out. Be warned though, if I don’t like what I hear, I’m going to kill you.”
She unconsciously took a step back at the threat. She knew he meant it. It was part of the reason she had kept away for so long and that very strength and ability to carry out the threat was the reason she was here today.
She smiled uncertainly, “OK, man. Look, you’ve probably noticed that there’s stuff going down that isn’t exactly normal, yeah?”
He merely looked at her.
“Right, ‘course you have.” She coughed lightly, “Well, the thing is, I’ve received a System Quest.”
He simply continued staring at her in silence.
“Right, right…um…OK. Well, the thing is, the Quest is to locate something or someone and get them to accept their destiny.”
This took him by surprise. He had only ever known the World System take a hand in its machinations directly once before. And that was something he didn’t want to think about again.
“’Something or someone’? What the Void does that mean? And get them to accept their destiny? What? Explain. Now.”
Sadira walked closer to Xod; she knew that she had him now. His greatest weakness was his insatiable curiosity and she had known that all she had to do was leverage it properly and she would have him hook, line and sinker.
“Well, I don’t really know too much. The Quest came through about a week ago. Hold on and I’ll read it off the notification.”
[System Notification:
You have been offered a Two-Fold Quest, The Call to Action.
Part One –
Locate the one the Void fears:
No Classes, No Levels
The reluctant Hero
The Lonely One.
Part Two –
Once located, engage with the target of the Quest and persuade them to accept their Destiny.
Quest Reward:
On successful completion of Part One of Quest, Questor will receive 5 Levels in main Class and one [Rare] Skill in addition to any other Skills earned.
On successful completion of Part Two of Quest, Questor will receive one Legendary [Skill] in addition to any other Skills earned.
Time to complete Quest:
1 week from Quest Notification]
Despite himself, Xod whistled at the Quest rewards. They were unheard off. There was potential for 3 Skills in one go, depending on how close the Questor was to a cap-stone level-up, not to mention the level-ups which could be a game-changer by themselves.
He hadn’t even heard of a Legendary Skill!
“What do I get out of this?”
Sadira spoke quickly, “Well, there’s nothing to say that the Questor has to be on their own and I’m sure that if you joined my party, you will also be eligible for the Quest rewards.”
“Based on what?”
“Experience! I’ve had a Quest before, recruited some friends into my party and was able to split the rewards with them!”
“Really? You’ve had a Quest before? For what?”
The hopeful smile on her face froze for a moment and her eyes flickered. “Oh, it was, um, to locate the Shard of Nyarlathotep.”
“The Shard of Nyar…Nyarlath…whatever it was? And what did you have to do with this Shard?”
“Oh, just make sure that an eldritch abomination wasn’t able to use it to mentally dominate and possess a buncha people. That would have sucked!”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“Uh huh. OK. Let’s say I give you the benefit of the doubt and believe you, those directions are pretty flimsy. Where do you plan on looking?”
“Oh, that’s easy! I’m guessing all the weird stuff happening around Windrip is probably something to do with it. It would be too much of a coincidence for it not to be, yeah?”
He took a moment to think before answering her. The fact that the World System was handing out a Quest like this, taking a direct hand in affairs and then Sadira showing up with the exact same things he had been thinking not an hour earlier was…frankly, a little suspicious.
He did not like being used and he had a feeling that was what was happening. He was also sure that the target of the Quest wouldn’t want to be bothered too or there wouldn’t be a Quest. It didn’t matter whether it was Sadira doing the using or the System, he wouldn’t all..o..w…i..t. His eyes glazed over and all thoughts dulled in his mind.
His eyes re-focused as he sat up straight with a start, Sadira clicking her fingers under his nose.
“Xod? Xod! You OK, man? You zoned out there, buddy.”
He sat still for a moment. He couldn’t remember what he had been thinking of. Oh well, he was sure it wasn’t important.
What was important was signing up to Sadira’s party and locating this individual. He was positive that if it was that necessary to the World System, they would need to move fast.
“Yeah.” He coughed in embarrassment, “Yes. I’m fine. OK. I’ll join your party. Let me get settled up here and we’ll head to Windrip. Can you fly?”
“No. Us Rogues don’t fly, man. They sneak. They stick to the shadows. They have been known to scuttle when necessary. They may even steal on occasion. But, they do not fly!”
“OK, well Windrip is about thousand miles that way” He gestured nonchalantly with his left hand, indicating the vast expanse of the continent, “When did you get the notification about the Quest?”
“Yesterday.”
“OK, so, we have roughly two or three days at the most to get there and see if the target is still there. If not, we’ll have to interrogate some of the towns-folk, see if they recognise someone from the description. That could take a day or so. It will be cutting it fine to complete the Quest but it is do-able. We will have to fly there, though. I’ll give you a lift, don’t worry!” A rare smile crossed his lips.
Sadira paled at the sight. The last time Xod had smiled like that, things had not ended well. For anybody.
---------
“AAAAAHHHHHHH” Sadira’s panicked screaming was audible miles below them as they flew through the air.
Xod was cradling her in his arms and was starting to get a little fed up of the constant screaming. He was actually amazed that she was able to keep it up for so long. Most people started out terrified then, over time, became accustomed to flying. Or, at least, stopped screaming. Sadira was not most people and she was clearly not happy about the mode of travel.
He craned his head and shouted, “Hey, see that? That’s the Lost City. Do me a favour and remember where it is, please?”
Sadira momentarily stopped the futile noise to give him a dirty look. As if she was capable of remembering anything except the pants-wetting terror she was currently experiencing! Then, reminded of the fact that she was currently flying through the air, unsupported except for a pair of admittedly strong arms, began to scream again.
Xod sighed. His little attempt at distracting the Rogue clearly hadn’t worked. It seemed he would just have to put up with the irritating noise a while longer. It was then that he caught sight of something on the ground. He slowed his flight and activated his [Eagle Eye] Skill for a closer look.
He saw men and women running around a few caravans set in a clearing. Flashes of light were occasionally visible as it was reflected off weapons. It wasn’t immediately clear if the people were attacking or defending. One thing he was sure of though.
There were people in trouble down there.
In an instant, he made his decision and inclined his body.
“AAAAHHHHH…What are you doing??”
“There are people who need help down there.” He briefly explained.
“Erm, OK, so why is that our problem? Can we just get this hellish trip over with, please?!”
He set his face in a look of determination. “No.”
He alighted in the midst of a group of trees nearby the commotion. He could clearly hear the ringing of swords and screaming of men.
Sadira was pale on their landing, breathing heavily.
He couldn’t resist. “Sadira, if you need to catch your breath for a minute, you might be best off resting on your knees.”
She panted, trying to regain her equilibrium before responding, “Kneel? Will that help?”
“Possibly. In fact, yes, Kneel. Kneel before Xod!”
He had a strange, manic grin on his face as she looked at him in puzzlement. “What? Kneel before you? Why? Do you have a Skill that will help?”
He sighed at the injustice of it. He had been waiting so long to use that line.
“Never mind. No, no Skills. It probably won’t help. Come, let’s go and see what’s happening over there.”
“Oh, for Void’s sake! Do we really have to get involved? We are on a time limit, y’know?”
He replied stiffly, “You may remain if you wish but I will certainly see if they need assistance.”
She huffed in annoyance. “Fine! Let’s go then”
They walked towards the sounds of the ongoing commotion. The shouting became more legible as they grew closer.
“…give us your stuff and your women-folk and we’ll put you down quick and easy. Keep on fighting us and we’ll make you suffer first. Then take your stuff and women-folk anyway.” Coarse laughter followed the announcement.
Sadira’s back stiffened as she heard the vile ultimatum. In her youth, she had been taken by a group who had made very similar threats to the ones currently being made. She still sometimes woke up in the middle of the night, sweating and feeling powerless. She had sworn never to feel that way again and if she could prevent the same thing happening to someone else, she would.
She turned and faced Xod, her lips bloodless and eyes wide in fury.
“OK, you were right. Let’s get the sons of butchers”.
Xod smiled mirthlessly.
They both drew their weapons, Xod his sabre and Sadira her small but powerful crossbow and crept through the forest, neither of them making a sound as they stealthily approached.
Finally, they could see the caravans. There were three of them, formed into a triangle with the majority of the travellers in the centre. Several men and women were holding weapons out defensively towards the group of twenty rough looking individuals.
Xod gestured to what appeared to be the leader of the bandit group, a huge man wielding a club and pointed to himself, sign-posting that he would take care of the wretch.
Sadira narrowed her eyes at him before abruptly nodding in agreement.
The leader leaned on his club and idly scratched at his hair. “Well? I’m waiting. Throw down your weapons and come out. I promise it’ll be quick.” His men guffawed again.
Xod considered that this group were easily amused.
A strong voice came from the group of defenders. “No. We’ll fight to the death if we have to. You’re not taking anything or anyone, you barbarians!” The voice belonged to a tall, beautiful warrior.
He used his [Analyze] Skill briefly and was surprised to find that she was Level 31. Quite a respectable level. Not quite enough to defeat the leader of the group who was Level 39 though. Although it was only eight levels between them, the differences were qualitative, not cumulative.
He turned to Sadira and wasn’t entirely surprised to find she was gone. He knew her history and how this had probably triggered her fury. He grunted quietly to himself and resolved to wait and see what happened before he committed himself to battle.
He didn’t have long to wait.
There was a gentle sigh of parted air and a crossbow bolt suddenly sprouted from the back of the skull of the bandit slightly behind and to the left of the leader. He immediately collapsed. Two other men were hit with bolts and fell down before the rest of the group of bandits began to realise they were under attack from behind.
A great shout of alarm was raised and the men began to scatter. Three other bandits fell with bolts in inconvenient areas of their bodies. Xod eyed them dispassionately and was quietly impressed by the skills Sadira exhibited. She had definitely improved her aim as each bolt was lodged firmly in the right eyes of the running men.
Fourteen left. Still too many for the travelling defenders to take on.
Xod felt his blood stirring and launched himself out of his concealment with a war cry. No need for subtlety now.
He swung his sabre towards a group of running bandits. One of the men screamed at him as he desperately raised his sword to defend against the strike and was struck dumb when his blade was sheared off by Xod’s [Crescent Slash] Skill. Xod mercilessly followed this up and slashed the doomed man across his throat, arterial blood spraying into the air. He immediately pivoted to the next bandit and cut down, severing the woman’s arm before reversing the strike and decapitating her. The remaining three attempted to run away before he ruthlessly cut them down. Five more dealt with.
In the meantime, Sadira had peppered another three of the bandits with her crossbow bolts, bringing them down efficiently.
Six left.
The defenders leapt over their caravan barricades and joined in the battle, shouting incoherently at the attackers and swinging their weapons wildly. More by luck than skill, they managed to take down another four of the bandits, although the Level 31 defender made a skilful showing as she took down her foe.
Two left.
Xod looked around the battlefield and saw the leader running in one direction while his friend ran in the other. He made a split second decision, drew his dagger from his belt, activated his Skill [Unerring Throw] and launched the dagger towards the subordinate. It hit him between the shoulder blades with a loud thunk that echoed around the clearing.
Last one.
The bandit leader stopped running and turned to face the defenders, panting heavily and holding his club aloft.
“Hey, come on, now. You can all take a joke, right? We was just messing with you guys, we wouldn’t have done anything really. We was just making sure you knew the dangers of travelling through the forest.” He gave a sickly grin as he spoke.
“Really? Just helping us, were you?” The Level 31 warrior stalked up to him and spat in his face. “Just helping us when you waylaid us? Just helping us when you killed my husband? Just helping us when you threatened to enslave us?”
He reached up with his spare hand and wiped the spittle off his face. “OK, look, I can see we got off on the wrong foot, maybe there’s something we can…” He suddenly reached out with a roar and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her towards him with a violent yank. He whispered into her ear, “Shouldn’t have let yourself get too close now, should you darlin’?”
She struggled to free herself to no avail.
He spoke to the rest of the defenders. “Now, then. We’ll just be taking our leave, OK? No one try any funny business or this woman will taste my club.”
“Alright, mate?” Sadira’s voice coming from directly behind him surprised the leader, causing him to jump. He spun around to face her, still holding tight to his hostage.
“I don’t know who you are or where you came from, sticking your nose into other folks business but you’ll be leaving me be or she’ll be dead, you get me?”
Sadira just smiled. Normally, Sadira had a bright, sunny smile that illuminated her face and made everyone who saw it smile back involuntarily. This…was not that. It was more of a rictus grin. It promised a lot of pain in the recipient’s future.
“I don’t know her. I know your type though. Take, use and abuse. That’s all your type ever do. You’ll kill her anyway once you’re free.” She flicked her eyes over to the hostage, “I’m sorry but I wont be letting him walk away to do it again.”
The warrior closed her eyes in acknowledgement.
The bandit leader sneered, “Oh yeah, and what’re you gonna do, eh?”
Sadira smiled again, “Already done it, mate.” She cast her eyes down suggestively.
The bandit leader looked confused for a moment before he registered a sharp pain in his groin.
He whispered, “What?” He released the warrior and staggered back a step, lowering his unencumbered hand and bringing it back up to his face. His eyes widened in terror at the sight of the blood coating it and slowly collapsed to the ground.
The warrior began to kick his limp body, screaming at him in rage until Xod gently took hold of her shoulder and pulled her away.
“It’s done. They’re all dead. You’re all safe now.”
---------
“When did you learn how to silent-cast your Skills?”
It was about twenty minutes later. They had excused themselves from the celebrations (and, coincidentally, cleanup) citing a prior engagement and were back on their way to Windrip.
Fortunately, Sadira was no longer screaming in terror having apparently acclimated. She thought for a moment before responding. “Do you remember the previous Quest I did?”
He nodded his assent.
“It was one of the rewards. Gotta admit, buddy. It’s so much easier to take butchers like that by surprise when you’re not screaming your Skills at them first.”
He laughed shortly. “I suppose so.”
He looked down, “That’s Wolfwater down there, shouldn’t be too much longer now.”
She sighed in relief, “I appreciate that this is your preferred mode of travel but I can’t help but think it’s an affront to the gods and the World System. If the System had wanted us to fly, it would have given us wings.”
He laughed again, “I mean, the System did basically give me wings, that’s how I’m flying us here.”
She scowled, “You know what I mean!”
He laughed all the way to Windrip.
They landed just outside the town walls. There had obviously been some sort of attack recently as there was clear evidence of mass rebuilding.
They entered through the gate and asked the guards where the local Adventurers Guild was. The guard was accommodating and gave them simple directions.
“Do you want to stay the night or just see what information we can get from the Guild?”
Xod replied thoughtfully, “I think information first. We’re on a time limit and don’t know if any information we get here will be worthwhile.”
Sadira nodded in agreement, “OK, lets go and see if this riddle makes sense to anyone there.”
Together they strode confidently through the town until they reached the Guild building. They entered and paused in the entry as the jokes and laughter slowly died out.
Xod took a measured look around the room before announcing, “We’re looking for someone.”
A sarcastic voice spoke up, “The brothel’s two streets over, mate”
He rolled his eyes. “The one I’m looking for probably doesn’t have any Levels, impossible as that sounds. Does anyone know who that might be?”
Silence greeted his question but he didn’t miss the way that some of the clientele suddenly looked shifty.
A figure with silver-gray hair and dressed in long blue robes walked up to them. He leaned his staff against the wall and slung his arms around their shoulders companionably, “I think maybe we should all talk.”
Sadira shrugged off his hand and asked, “And who are you?”
He smiled at them, eyes twinkling mischievously. “Why, I’m the Guildmaster, Evan, and I know exactly who you’re looking for...”