by C. M. Carney
I took my focus away from the angry felon and kept my eyes on the door. Panic and uncertainty built in me. I needed to find a different tactic.
Jumping through the window had been painful and ineffective.
I eyeballed the back door and considered making a run for it, but I knew at least two of the Agent's minions were hiding that way. I realized I was sick of running. It was time to go on the offensive.
So, I hid behind a planter near the door and waited. Time moved like a slug through salt as I waited and I kept getting eyeballed by people for my odd behavior. Even the twitchy fire mage was giving me a judgmental stare.
Great, I’m the resident weirdo.
Finally the Agent entered, and I jumped from my hiding space and fired Order Bolt. The spell’s description said it “will unerringly hit” its target. Guess what, it did, but the energy flowed off her like oil fleeing Dawn dish soap in that damn commercial.
The Agent has resisted Order Magic. Better luck next time.
“Shit, even the prompts are becoming assholes,” I said, and tried to run. Soon I was at the bridge again. I tried to let her take me. After my traumatic past few lives I really would have been okay with not dying. But that damn loyalty reared its ugly head again and the next thing I knew I was drowning.
I think I hate you Gryph, I thought and immediately felt guilty. Bastard.
☠☠☠☠☠
I was back at the table and this time I only kinda squealed like a preteen girl. Gaarm looked at me in irritation, repeated his dwarf insult, and the ever smug dealer asked me what I wished to do. I folded again. Gaarm gave me the stink eye, his tiny brain debating whether he should kill me for not really cheating. I was shaking. My nerves were shot. I’d died several times already, and I had no idea how to stop it from happening again.
“Hey Gaarm, ol’ buddy, I could use a stiff drink. You want one?” I felt the stare of his too close-set eyes burning into me before he nodded and grunted. “I’ll take that as a yes,” I said and walked up to the bar. Master Grimslee was polishing mugs with his favorite snot rag and I put on my best winning smile. “My friend and I feel like celebrating,” I said, tossing a thumb over my shoulder at Gaarm.
“Good for you,” Grimslee grumbled, eyes staring at me levelly.
I glanced back at the door. Still no Agent. I turned back to Grimslee. “Now, I know you must have some finer stock, perhaps hidden out back?”
“You don’t like my mead?”
“No, no, I love it, but I just felt like something with more punch, something a tad pricier, perhaps. My friend and I are celebrating.”
“You said that already,” the innkeeper said, but he glanced at Gaarm who pointed at himself with a nod. “Well, okay then. I got some elvish brandy and some Eldarian fire wine.”
I pretended to consider for a moment. “Whichever one is the most expensive, and the most hidden out back.” Master Grimslee gave me an odd look, but then grunted and tossed his rag onto the bar. He pushed the curtain to the back room aside and disappeared.
“And pour yourself one while you're at it,” I yelled after him. A grunt that almost sounded pleased came from behind the curtain. I gave it a second and then rushed behind the bar. “It’s around here somewhere,” I said in a low voice. The first shelf held a bunch of mugs. The second bits and odds and ends. Finally, on the bottom shelf I saw it, the butt of a loaded crossbow.
I grabbed the weapon and eased it onto the bar. It was a fine weapon and its weight felt good in my hands. I placed the weapon on the bar top, removed the safety catch and took aim at the door. I inhaled deeply, trying to calm my pounding heart.
The shadow laden rogue’s eyes locked onto mine, but he neither moved nor said a word. As his cigarillo lit up the inside of his hood, I could see a small smile. Seraphine sauntered up and plopped a few empty mugs onto the bar. She looked at me with casual calm. “Whatcha doin’ hun?”
“Target practice,” I said and returned all my focus to the door as the handle twisted and the door eased open. A second later I saw the Agent. She looked about the room and I took aim. I pulled the trigger and the twang of the drawn string sent the bolt flying towards the Agent. I knew right away that my aim was true.
The bolt flew right towards the small elf woman and a mere second before it hit her she took a step back. The bolt flew by and sunk into the neck of the fat priest. His look of shock was only slightly greater than my own. He slumped forward, dumping his mug of mead down his cassock. The Agent’s eyes came to mine, and she smiled.
“What the hell?” I said. Nobody moves that fast. It’s like she knew the attack was coming. My eyes went wide. “Spidey sense.”
You have earned 923 XP for slaying a Priest of Ferrancia.
Sorry dude. But killing the hapless priest gave me a new skill.
You have learned the skill ARCHERY
Level: 1 - Tier: Base - Skill Type: Active
You have shown that you can handle bows and crossbows. This ability will allow you to deal death from a distance. Base Chance To Hit is one's Dexterity +1% per level. Chance of Critical Hit = 1% per level.
You have reached Level 3.
You have 10 unused Attribute Points. (5 New and 5 Previously Earned)
You have 2 unused Perk Point. (1 New and 1 Previously Earned)
I didn’t have time to play with my points just yet and swiped the prompts away in annoyance. I tossed the crossbow down and ran towards the back door. The Agent and one of her mutes followed. Now, I’d like to tell you that I got away, but, yeah, that didn’t happen. I ran headlong into her other goons and I ended up tied up at the edge of town again.
Damn loyalty. I made a promise to myself, that if I ever saw Gryph again, I’d punch him in the face. Then I jumped off the bridge. I didn’t even fight it this time; I just let the water take me.
And I died, again.
☠☠☠☠☠
I set my empty mug down onto the table with a hollow thunk, releasing an unexpected spark of energy that made me jump. Gaarm grinned, sucked at some bit of food in his crooked Stonehenge of brown teeth, and pushed his pile of coins forward. “I’m all in,” he said.
Blah, blah, I cheated, etcetera, ad infinitum. I won't bore you with all this again. Now that I realized I was stuck in some kinda weird time loop, I had to figure out why and then figure out how to get unstuck.
I was a bit calmer this time and cast Commune again. Knowing my luck the bastard Lords of Order would claim that since I was technically reliving the same day, I wouldn’t be able to can the spell again. But happy day, the world went hazy and up floated a quadrata. I had no clue if this was the same one that I’d spoken to before, but I still felt that he, she, it, should have a name. I named it after the world’s most famous cube.
“Hey Rubik, how’s it hangin’?” The quadrata just stared at me with an unnerving, unblinking eye. “Right, my question? Can you tell me where Gryph is?”
NO, it thought said and floated away.
“Dammit,” I mumbled as the world returned.
Okay, I still needed to fight my way out of this. My mind ran through the possibilities and I decided the crossbow was still my best option. But this time, I’d hide behind the bar, until I heard the Agent and her crony enter. Then using the mirror behind the bar that Master Grimslee never seemed to clean, I’d wait until she was facing away from me. Then I’d spring up and fire. No chance she’d avoid that.
Well, guess what, she avoided it. But at least I got my first Critical Hit, with a brutally lucky shot to her minion’s eye.
You have earned 1,523 XP for slaying an Agent’s Thrall.
Thrall? Were these guys slaves? Under some kinda mind control? Who was this chick?
She turned and grinned at me. I dropped the crossbow and ran to the back door again. I knew where the other thralls were hiding, so I was sure I could avoid them. I was lucky with the first one. He was hidden well back from the alley, so he couldn’t see me until I was almost on top of him. I slunk along t
he far wall, hidden in shadows.
You have learned the skill STEALTH
Level: - Tier: Base - Skill Type: Active
You have shown that you can be sneaky and stealthy. This ability will allow you to hide from enemies, sneak up on them to use the Pickpocket skill or to perform a sneak attack. Base Stealth success percentage is determined by Dexterity +1% per level of Stealth.
Right as I was sneaking by thrall #2 the back door to the inn opened and the Agent looked right at me. Apparently, my Stealth skill still sucked. I jumped up and sprinted past thrall #3. He made a grab for me, but I slipped under his grasp. Guess being short for an Ordonian had some benefits. I ran towards the end of the alley.
Damn these stumpy legs.
I did some quick calculations in my mind. I’m great with calculations. Remember, I was an artificial intelligence in a past life. If I was right, then this plan would work. My lungs burned with the effort and I promised myself that regardless what happened next, some good old-fashioned cardio was in my future.
I could hear the thrall right behind me and I put on a last, desperate burst of speed. As I crossed the road, I heard a surprised whiny and a “Whoa.” My calculations had been correct.
To my left I saw the flaring nostrils of the horse that had trampled me the last time. It whinnied again, and the driver tried to pull up. But, stopping several tons of horse and cart proved impossible, again, and the thrall behind me was crushed to a pulp. I nearly threw up at the sight. The once man looked like a sack full of organs and bone dropped from an incredible height. And the blood, there was a lot of blood.
Is that what I had looked like? Damn.
I pulled my eyes away from the carnage and ran again. But my Stamina was crap, and it wasn’t long before the Agent and her last thrall had me again. They tied me up, the Agent blathered and at the bridge I jumped.
This time I wanted to make it quick. I exhaled violently, forcing all the air from my lungs with a terrible underwater laugh. Trust me that is harder to do than one thinks. The subconscious mind tends to defeat the conscious when survival is at stake, but my subconscious mind had never faced such intense and obvious stupidity as purposely drowning myself. I think I caught it by surprise.
I drowned and died, again.
☠☠☠☠☠
5
I was back where I’d started, again.
I got a YES from Rubik when I asked if I was stuck in a time loop. So, I’m not insane. Yay me.
I took careful aim with the crossbow and fired. The Agent dodged again. The thrall did not.
You have earned 1,523 XP for slaying the Agent’s Thrall.
I ran. They caught me. It was the same old, same old. This time I added some flair to my dive from the bridge. I’m sure it would have at least won me the bronze.
☠☠☠☠☠
And, then I was back again. I moved to a different spot and took careful aim. The bolt zipped at the Agent and she stepped aside. This time I hit the barmaid, and I got a Critical Hit.
You have earned 2,153 XP for slaying Seraphine.
I felt bad about that one.
You have reached Level 4.
You have 15 unused Attribute Points. (5 New and 10 Previously Earned)
You have 3 unused Perk Point. (1 New and 2 Previously Earned)
I stared at the prompt for a moment and realized that I was keeping my experience after each death. I know it seems obvious to you, but I was so stressed out about dying repeatedly, that I had kinda glossed over it. I was leveling.
I had another chat with Rubik. “Hey, my multi-faceted friend how’s the family?” As usual, I got nothing. With a heavy sigh, I asked my question. “Can I beat the Agent?”
NO, it said and floated away.
“Dammit,” I said, and I sank into a real depression. Maybe that’s why I let the Agent take me this time. If I was gonna die, then I may at least productively use my last few moments. It was time to spend some points.
Order Bolt was cool, but it didn't do squat to the Agent, and it would be a while before Mana would become a problem there. My god Cerrunos was dead, so I didn’t have any incantations. That shitty situation convinced me that I needed to up my physical Attributes. My Stamina had gotten me killed several times already, so I dumped 5 points into Constitution. I put another 5 into Dexterity, thinking that maybe it would help my aim, or at the very least my ability to escape capture. I dumped my last 5 points into Strength, cuz ya know, ‘smash smash, crush head’ with my war hammer would be much more effective.
Lex - Level 4
Ordonian
Deity: Cerrunos
Experience: 10,253
Next Level: 4.747
Stats
Health: 140
Stamina: 144
Mana: 145
Spirit: 145
Attributes
Strength: 23
Constitution: 19
Dexterity: 17
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 16
Gifts:
Player Detection
Ordonian Bloodlust
Attribute Points: 0
Perk Points: 3
The surge of warmth and power that flowed through me, almost made me forget about my imminent death. Then I felt Lurch tie my hands, and the Agent chirped up.
“Tell me where Gryph is?”
This again.
“I told you already, I don’t know,” I said.
“Told me? When?” she said, giving me a strange look.
“Oh, right, that was the last time.”
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion and with a flick of her wrist, she suddenly held a thin dirk in her hand. “Explain that statement?” She walked up and Lurch held me a bit tighter.
“Nah, I don’t want to. Let’s just do what we do,” I said.
She tapped the dagger against my cheek. “You’re an odd one. I like that.”
“So, you’ll let me go?”
“Sorry. No can do,” she said, flipped her dagger back into its sheath and pulled the port stone from her pouch.
“Ooh, the pretty rock. And yeah, I know you love the Hill of Death at the edge of town.”
The look she gave me sent a chill into my bones. Had my charming love of sarcasm led me to say too much? She clearly had some kind of prognostication capability, some way of knowing the future or sensing danger. How else had she avoided my attempts to kill her every damn time?
“Shit,” I said and ran to the edge of the bridge. She moved too quickly and I could not properly lasso Lurch this time. He reached for me as I plummeted over the edge of the bridge and the rope tangled around his right arm. He made the mistake of trying to arrest my fall and as the rope jerked, I heard Lurch grunt in pain as his arm snapped. I fared no better as the sudden jerk, mixed with the odd angle I was falling, wrenched both my shoulders from their sockets. I screamed in agony as my body spun, dangling from the rope like an unspooled yoyo.
I don’t know if it was the pain, the uselessness of his broken arm, the weight of my body, or all three, but the rope went slack and Lurch pitched over the side of the bridge. We both fell into the water and I screamed in joy as the water rushed into my throat and lungs.
☠☠☠☠☠
This time I made a Molotov cocktail out of Master Grimslee’s rotgut liquor. Of course I didn't hit the Agent with either the improvised grenade or the crossbow. The Molotov exploded on the fire mage who grinned in some horrid combination of pain and ecstasy as he burst into flames. That guy has issues. The crossbow bolt took the thrall in the neck again. Yay, another Critical Hit for Lex.
You have earned 1,223 XP for slaying a Fire Mage.
You have earned 1,523 XP for slaying the Agent’s Thrall.
I continued to cast Commune. “Hey Rubik, will I ever be capable of beating the Agent?”
YES, it said and floated away.
“Well yay,” I said as the world returned and the Agent caught up with me. I smiled up at her with renewed confidence. “Your da
ys are numbered bitch.” I was almost happy to drown this time.
☠☠☠☠☠
I fired the crossbow a bunch more, sometimes killing the thrall, sometimes sending a random bystander into the next life, but never once coming close to scratching the Agent.
☠☠☠☠☠
I tried to hire the twitchy fire mage to attack her as soon as she walked through the door. But he wasn’t interested, and I spent so much time arguing with the weirdo that the Agent was there before I knew it. Then things went pretty much as normal for me.
☠☠☠☠☠
I tried the Agent as a bounty hunter trick on Gaarm a few times. As I ran the screams of Gaarm and his cronies bit into me with a stab of guilt. I got a bit further those times, but, not far enough.
☠☠☠☠☠
There were a bunch of other things I tried.
☠☠☠☠☠
“Dammit.”
☠☠☠☠☠
“Ouch.”
☠☠☠☠☠
“Crap.”
☠☠☠☠☠
“Really? Now that is just messed up.”
☠☠☠☠☠
So, yeah, I kept dying, which was getting really old. On the bright side, I was earning a butt load of XPs, upped my skills a bunch and even earned a few more levels.
You have earned 7,338 XP for slaying a Fire Mage (x6).
You have earned 4,615 XP for slaying a Priest of Ferrancia (x5)
