Forsaken

by Cebelius

  Abram simplified the problem by returning to his gaming roots. He was a wizard. Wizards needed some basic things in their starting tool kits. He had a spell that allowed for direct damage, and another that gave him some battlefield control options, damage, and a root. What else did he need?

  Something defensive.

  Air would likely allow him to craft force shields, give him defense against incoming range and melee damage. However, since Light wasn't its own affinity, optical tricks and the like probably fell into the Fire category, so if he wanted to craft illusions, like the kind that created multiple images of himself, or outright invisibility, that would fall into the fire category.

  Invisibility has both the Air AND Fire affinities, doesn't it?

  'Yes. Chaos as well, along with the secondary affinity Illusion.'

  Oooh, bonus.

  As he thought about it he still didn't have a clear winner. Air gave him movement and stronger defensive options, Fire opened up offensive and utility spells, and he'd need both eventually to put his HUD in good working order.

  As he thought about his display, he realized that there were still a number of features he wanted and didn't have.

  What would it cost to get targeting information? Name, hit point, mana, and stamina bars for things other than me?

  Hantu Raya displayed a formula:

  Divine Nature: 16mp = Most common name revealed + current HP/SP/MP for unguarded targets. Information will remain displayed for duration of encounter, cast once per target.

  Primary Affinities: Air, Fire, Order

  Secondary Affinity: Divination

  Abram winced.

  So each primary affinity I have cuts the cost by four?

  'Two. The secondary Divination is worth six, as the spell fits precisely within its purview.'

  What does 'unguarded' mean?

  'Certain creatures and objects can be protected from scrying. Such protections would cause this spell to fail.'

  As he thought about it, he realized that taking secondary affinities might not be as wasteful as he'd initially thought. While it would cost him more character-building points to take them ahead of their relevant primaries, their immediate savings on spells that fell precisely into those categories was greater.

  The fact that there's no way for me to increase mana regeneration is really kneecapping me here, he thought.

  'The road to godhood is long and seldom successfully traveled,' Hantu replied.

  GODHOOD? I'd settle for competent non-noob wizard.

  'Also a long, seldom successfully traveled road. You should have invested in warrior's skills if you wanted this to be easy.'

  Abram couldn't exactly disagree there. Wizards and mages were pretty crunchy.

  One character point would get him a five-point increase in his total mana pool, but he couldn't help but feel that would be wasting his points. Dumping one more point into his regeneration might not be a bad play, but as he thought about that, he couldn't escape the feeling that it would just make him that much more susceptible to torture. As it was, if he were captured again he would probably never be able to die without help.

  Just a game ...

  Realizing he had to make a decision, he thought, Give me the Fire primary.

  'Five points remaining.'

  Two points in comeliness. Given the range for normal human stats you gave me earlier, that'll put me at slightly above average.

  'It will ... for a human. Three points remaining.'

  One point to open up three new spell slots. Show me the formula for a fireball, straight-up damage spell. Basketball-sized fireball that explodes in a twenty foot radius on impact, range of sixty feet.

  Fireball: 8mp = explosive fireball

  Contact damage 12hp. Explosive splash damage 6hp.

  Range: 60 feet

  Explosion Radius: 20 feet

  Primary Affinities: Fire, Chaos

  Can I up the damage on that?

  'If you spend time to channel more mana into the spell, yes. Double the mana and you will triple the damage. However, adding the ability to channel mana into the spell at all will increase the base cost and you will have to charge the spell at one second per additional mana spent.'

  He considered that a moment, then thought, What if I use a second spell slot for the channeled variant, with faster mana input, and leave how much I can pump up the spell completely open-ended?

  'Sure, Son Goku. Here's what that will look like on paper:'

  Channeled Fireball: 10mp = explosive-charged fireball

  Contact Damage 12hp base. Explosive splash damage 6hp base

  Damage will be trebled per +10 mana.

  Time per additional point: .2 seconds

  Range: 60 feet

  Explosion Radius: 20 feet

  Primary Affinities: Fire, Chaos

  Noice. Trigger for the first will be palm-facing target and the word 'Fireball!' Trigger for the second will be the Goku charge-up and release gestures for the Kamehameha because yes, I am a fan. I'll stop short of doing the long-ass, drawn out chanting thing though; the gestures should suffice. We'll just call that one the DragonBall.

  'Neeerd. You are going to feel like such an idiot the first time you actually try to cast that. Presuming you even survive long enough to let fly. One slot remains.'

  You underestimate my fanboy nature. I really do need something defensive. How about a spell called 'Images' that will create a number of visual duplicates of my target that appear at random locations within five feet of the original, then move in random directions but otherwise mimic the subject?

  'How many images?'

  Specified when the spell is cast. Point at the target and say 'Images' followed by a number.

  Hantu Raya took some time, then displayed the formula:

  Images: 5mp = 1 visual only image (+1 image per 5mp spent) that emulates subject but moves at random. Images will last for 1 minute.

  Primary Affinities: Chaos, Fire

  Secondary Affinities: Illusion

  Damn dude, that's still pretty steep.

  'Complex behaviors via an ongoing link to the subject don't come cheap. Taking the illusion secondary would reduce the cost to two and two.'

  I only have two points left. How many would the Illusion secondary cost?

  'Considering its primary affinities are Air and Fire, one of which you possess, two points.'

  Abram's lips twisted as he thought about that. His instinctive, almost OCD need for efficiency was screaming at him not to take the bait, but that secondary would transform a spell he'd only be able to use at the very beginning of battle to protect himself into one he could bust out almost any time to cause a variety of effects depending on the target he picked.

  A sudden thought occurred and he asked, So wait, now that I have the Fire primary, how much does Divination cost?

  'Two.'

  So if I took that instead, and filled my last slot with Divine Nature, that spell would only cost me eight mana per cast?

  'U math gud.'

  Smartass.

  'I'll take that over the alternative.'

  Abram thought for another long moment. He hadn't finalized his choices yet. There was a way he could get both Illusion and Divination ... as long as he was willing to stay ugly ... which would reduce his chances of getting more bonds and points on down the road.

  'You're fooling yourself, Abram. You think any woman on Celestine give's a rat's ass how you look?'

  He winced as he read the words, both because he couldn't dispute them and because they laid bare an unpleasant reality about the game: he didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that he was a template. There would always be something pathetic about his bonds, and that something was him. The only way to fix that was to pour points into his traits, to make himself worthy, but his increased worthiness would only be in his own mind. At the end of the day no matter how strong he got, how good-looking, how much control he gained, it was always really going to be about the fact that his
dick granted wishes.

  So what? It's a fuckin' GAME, dude. Play the game. Survive long enough and you can make yourself the next Jake Gyllenhaal when whether you live or die ISN'T entirely dependent on the fact that you've got a giant MILF with an ax keeping you covered.

  'Spoken like a true gamer ... to himself.'

  Abram realized his thoughts had scrolled across the chat box he had open with Hantu Raya, and for reasons he didn't fully understand he was ashamed to see them.

  Ashamed, but not deterred.

  Give me back the two points I put in Comeliness. Drop the Dragonball spell from slot two. Give me Divine Nature in slot two and Images in slot three, along with both the Illusion and Divination affinities.

  'Going once? Twice? Sold! for ten points to the scrawny nerd with the big nose and no shoes.'

  I think I might actually hate you, Hantu Raya.

  'One day you'll thank me, Abram ben Brock Gallant. You may not believe it now, but I want you to succeed in this 'game,' as you call it. My power and yours are linked. The more you get, the more I get. And let me tell you: I want more. MUCH. More. Your insane delusions conspired to give you an advantage no template on Celestine has ever had before: me. And I have no intention of letting you throw that advantage away just so you can geek out over a fireball. Play if you must, but play smart. As you've been told: you only get one shot at this. You'd better make it count.'

  Show me the updated sheet.

  Primary Statistics:

  Strength: 6/20

  Dexterity: 6/20

  Constitution: 10/20

  Soul: 20/20

  Presence: 3/20

  Comeliness: 3/20

  Secondary Statistics:

  Health: 13/13

  Stamina: 12/20

  Mana: 87/96 (100)

  Regeneration (HP): .0123/minute at rest

  (+17.712 hppd)

  Respite (SP): 2/minute at rest

  Renewal (MP): .2/minute*

  *conditional

  Affinities:

  Primary

  Chaos

  Evil

  Death

  Fire

  Secondary

  Illusion

  Divination

  Abilities:

  Template's Gift

  Iron Stomach

  Disease Resistance

  Poison Resistance

  Dark Sight (120 feet)

  Spells:

  HUD

  Dark Lightning

  Tentacular Rune

  Fireball

  Divine Nature

  Images

  Points Available: 0

  14

  How to Suck at Sidequests

  The trail of devastation the three of them followed eventually led them to a bridge, though one utterly unlike the last.

  Abram was easily able to tell the difference between bergsrå work and that of the dwarves. The span before him was precisely engineered and fit together in pieces so exact that their edges had been bevelled to deliberately identify the joinery, lest it fade into invisibility.

  It was ten feet wide and supported by an arch underneath, though completely flat on top. It was also guarded.

  As Abram came into sight of the bridge he stopped his companions with an outstretched hand, then set a finger to his lips. His dark sight had a range that was twice theirs, and given his earlier conversation about it with Angrboda he suspected the dwarves had similar limitations. They hadn't spotted him yet.

  A battle had been fought here, though the mushrooms had not been burned in this area. They had been chopped down, and had fallen toward the bridge. The bodies of Yara's children here were each the size of a city bus and for the first time, the dwarven corpses outnumbered them. All were covered and faceless, but the carnage was obvious. The bodies had been smashed. The armor that had seemed invulnerable to him when he'd first seen their fighting square had here been crushed like aluminum cans by the behemoths they had fought. The goop that pooled around the joints and flattened helmets was ample proof of the insane forces that had been brought to bear on them.

  Yara's creatures weren't all alike either. One even looked like a younger version of her, though the womanly figure atop the chiton had been ruthlessly dismembered. Another had the look of a massive spider, and two more resembled beetles more than anything else, with savagely serrated mandibles three times longer than Abram was tall.

  For a long moment Abram couldn't figure out how the dwarves had managed to pass this point at all, but as he looked around he caught sight of a boulder twenty feet across, and understood.

  They used siege engines. Probably mounted on the far side. These poor bastards may have served as little more than a lure to get these big guys into range.

  Working in front of the bridge were three dwarves. They looked to be gathering the bodies of their slain brethren. Yet though they had shields slung across their backs they were not otherwise armored, at least not in the way of their fallen kinsmen. They were all wearing undyed gambesons, though stains that Abram suspected were blood made a patchwork of the fabric's appearance. He could also see the glint off metal rings, and noted both the males and the female wore multiple piercings in each ear. Metal jewelry also adorned the beards of the males in the form of beads and strands of wire woven into braids.

  One of them carried a mace and seemed to be standing guard while the other two went into the killing field, picked up bodies, and brought them back to lay next to others already gathered. It was gruesome work, and the two laborers were coated in gore.

  "What is it?" Sif asked, keeping her voice just barely above a whisper.

  Abram said, "Three dwarves. They're gathering up the bodies of their dead it looks like. They all have shields, and one of them is carrying a mace, but they aren't wearing the armor. Suggestions?"

  As he asked, he looked to Angie, and she frowned as she gazed back at him, then said, "I don't suppose you could disguise yourself?"

  Abram started to shake his head, then stopped and thought about it before opening his chat box with Hantu Raya.

  I can drop and replace spells in my spell slots, right?

  'Correct. As long as you are at rest.'

  "Yeah, I can, but we should back off a little bit so I can work out the spell," he said, turning and heading back toward one of the massive bodies of Yara's defenders. Putting this between themselves and the dwarves at the bridge, Abram considered a moment, then thought, Give me the details for a spell that will make my hood impenetrable to all forms of sight.

  A moment later, Hantu Raya displayed the details of the spell:

  Depthless Cowl: (1)reserved mana point = Deeper Darkness within the folds of your robe.

  Affinities: Fire

  Secondary Affinities: Illusion

  Perfect. Slot out my fireball for that.

  'Stand by.'

  A few moments later, Sif gasped, and Abram glanced from her to Angie and asked, "Will this work?"

  Angie blinked as she looked down at him, then nodded slowly as she said, "Deeper Darkness is not a common spell, Abram. It is an interesting choice. Do you by chance have the Fire Affinity?"

  "Yes. And Illusion. I picked them both up from Yara. I can maintain this indefinitely as long as my hood is up."

  "You truly are inclined to magic," Angie murmured.

  Abram smiled, then realized she couldn't see it, so he said, "I'm no Loki, but I try."

  "I pray you never take things as far as he did," Angie said ruefully. "What you have done will work for now, but you shouldn't speak unless you have to. Let us do the talking, okay?"

  "Fine by me. You guys know what we need out of this, and how much I'm willing to spend. I imagine we can use these guys to guide us safely into the dwarven settlement if we play our cards right."

  She nodded, then glanced at Sif and said, "While it will likely not work against us if I am known, it will be even safer if I am taken for a simple reaver, working with a mage partner. We invaded Svartheim and you hired both of us to
protect you on this journey, understand? You are headed to the settlement in an effort to recruit the strength you need for revenge. Can you do this?"

  Sif nodded, her expression grim. "Oh yes. It is a role I was practically born into. Leave it to me."

  The bergsrå took the lead. Abram fell into step behind and just to her left while Angie flanked her on the right. He folded his hands into his robes and walked as he had seen monks do, knowing that the spell would hide his feet as long as his robes covered them. Together the three of them advanced until they were within sixty feet of the dwarves working by the bridge.

  They were immediately spotted and the two who were unarmed retreated to the bridge, there picking up massive maces as the third faced them squarely and challenged them. He was a burly figure, bearded and thick. It was almost bizarre to Abram how much this creature resembled the dwarves from the Peter Jackson movies, though their piercings and surly expressions gave them more of a 40K feel. He couldn't tell hair color or other details though, and that was one difference: these dwarves had dark sight, which was not typical of the 'good' kind of dwarf. The duergar on the other hand ...

  Remember that these guys stole, raped, and killed the last template Angie knew. Keep your shit together, and keep quiet. You're the silent, ominously competent mage, not the scrawny nerd with the big nose and no shoes.

  Hantu Raya's text appeared.

  'Okay, while you would NOT have been my first choice as a contractor I have to say that you get credit at least for your sense of humor.'

  So good to me. Shut up now, I'm acting.

  'Of course, Sir Lee. Forgive me, carry on.'

  "Who are you, what are you doing here!?" the dwarf barked at them.

  "I might ask you the same question," Sif replied easily as she made a gesture that encompassed the carnage all around them. "This doesn't look much like a dwarven road to me. You are obviously far from your rightful place."