Changing Faces (New Game Minus Book 1)

by Sarah Lin

  "So that's what it was." Rhil'lahan snatched the fake gold from him and sniffed. "I knew something was wrong, but I never imagined Daek would go that far."

  "What happened to all of you? You didn't need to fight greencloaks?"

  "There were a few, but we took care of them easily enough." The elf looked over his battered body and sniffed before turning to walk back to the Guild. Soon the others followed, Danniah supporting him under one shoulder, which was easy given their height difference. Khassfhit walked on his other side, stroking the spine underneath his chin thoughtfully.

  "Why would Daek go this far, though? Was he fueling the death ritual?"

  Bloodwraith shrugged. Even with this meat-headed body he had many observations, but he didn't feel like sharing them. As glad as he was for the others saving his life, he wasn't exactly overflowing with positive emotions toward them. Unless they were idiots, they had to know they were saving themselves as well by forcing the confrontation.

  "The real question is, why get the Adventurers Guild involved?" Khassfhit asked no one in particular. "That would be a huge risk compared to just sacrificing the poor of Cresthaven."

  That was a better question, and one that Bloodwraith didn't have any answers to. He strongly suspected that it had something to do with the warning box he had received. Did Daek the Knife know something about other worlds? Was he a tool of the Outsiders, an enemy of theirs, or something else altogether?

  It was a critical question, but his mind was as tired as his body. Once he had rested he could consider all such things. For now, he needed to recover so that all of this effort couldn't be undone by a few more injuries. Even with healing, he felt mostly dead.

  The others talked about their experience, which sounded like heaven compared to his. He downplayed what he had done and the piles of bodies he had left behind him. Unfortunately, he doubted that Daek would be so foolish as to ignore them. Next time, the underworld boss wouldn't send any novices at him.

  But for now, at least, Daek was held at bay. Still, just to be safe, Bloodwraith distributed his points. Though it bothered him to focus so much on his physical skills, he placed all his points into those three statistics. If his primary tool was going to be his body, it needed to be overwhelmingly powerful, not merely slightly stronger than his opponents. His stats looked impressive now, even compared to other adventurers, but he was too tired to really enjoy it.

  When they got back to the Guild, Bloodwraith was surprised to find that he was greeted by many people he didn't know. Though the assignment from the Thieves Guild hadn't been important enough to attract the strongest adventurers, apparently they were all glad that it was dealt with. More than a few offered to buy him drinks.

  Bloodwraith didn't have time for that, not while he was this tired. The yammering of all the adventurers was grinding into his skull. Though a dim adventurous instinct was glad for the advancement, most of him wanted to burn the place down and be done with all this.

  Still, he held back his instincts and forced himself to smile. One of the leaders of the Guild bestowed on him a bronze plate in honor of his achievements. So he had increased in rank - even if the plate hadn't been inscribed with the name Raigar, he wouldn't have gotten any joy from it. A box congratulated him on the increased rank, but he received no raw power, and that was all that really mattered.

  Then again, he had survived in the end because of his connections with others. Perhaps he shouldn't burn it all down just yet.

  He departed early and everyone seemed to view him as being particularly humble for avoiding the praise. As if he wasn't just beaten to hell. It seemed his reputation had really improved...

  [Reputation increased!

  Alignment shifted to Good.

  You are known far and wide both as a skilled adventurer and a particularly noble soul.]

  Of course there was a box to tell him that. Bloodwraith scowled at the box, irritated at being declared "Good" like this. Yes, his personal box had changed as well. Were the boxes as stupid as everyone else, to think he was actually good just because his actions had been misinterpreted?

  None of it mattered for now. All that mattered was sleep.

  ~ ~ ~

  [You have entered combat.]

  A box intruding into his brain was not how Bloodwraith had wanted to wake up, but his eyes were open and couldn't deny the box insistently floating in front of him. It took him another few seconds to realize what the box said and react. He didn't think about the fact that this was a new type of box until he was on his feet, but by then he had bigger things to worry about.

  Most notably, the man in a dark cloak creeping across the room to stab him. Not a green cloak, but Bloodwraith had a feeling he knew the exact reason. Fortunately, the man looked startled to find his target awake and standing so quickly, and that moment of hesitation was enough.

  Lunging across the distance between them, Bloodwraith struck the man in the face. He was surprised when the man smashed through the door and collapsed, but then again, his "Might" statistic had increased substantially after his ordeal. Bloodwraith stomped out after him and put a foot on the man's weapon arm... but it was too late, his attacker was foaming at the mouth and already dying.

  As easy as the battle had been, Bloodwraith primarily felt irritation. He'd had enough combat yesterday, now he couldn't even get a full night of sleep? But judging from the sunlight, he'd actually had been sleeping for some time. His mind felt rested and his body moved easily, so good enough.

  Combat hadn't ended, however, and he could think of one obvious reason: more attackers. Perhaps not targeting him, more likely near the others. If Daek the Knife was going to attack them this quickly and aggressively, he'd probably target more than one of them.

  Since he had gone to sleep early, he couldn't be sure where any of the others were. At that moment, a panicked scream ran from down the corridor, so he charged in that direction.

  He nearly collided with Danniah, who was wearing the rumpled tunic she wore beneath her armor, as if she'd fallen into bed in it and ran out in the same condition. Though he stopped in time, she didn't, bouncing off his chest and falling back to the ground.

  The reason for the scream became obvious the next second as several more fighters in dark cloaks came down the corridor after her. They skidded to a halt when they saw him, but it was too late.

  Bloodwraith destroyed them with his bare hands. Not only was he stronger after his experience, something had changed inside of him. His mind, rejecting the brutish physical methods of combat for so long, had finally adapted. Combined with the natural combat instincts of Raigar's body, a few low level assassins were no match for him.

  [Victory! You received 545 EXP and five Dark Robes.]

  Did that mean that all the assassins had been defeated? Bloodwraith stayed alert in case the boxes were inaccurate in this case, yet it did feel as though the danger had passed. Five assassins to target five of them... but why had they all been together? Was his assumption of their intent incorrect?

  "Wow, thank you!" Danniah got up, blushing and looking away from him. It was only at that moment that Bloodwraith realized that he had stripped down to just a loincloth the previous night.

  [Affection +5!

  Danniah Affection: 89/100]

  Those affection points had better be for helping her against the assassins, not for ogling his body. Bloodwraith pushed the issue aside and focused on Danniah. "They attacked you in your sleep?"

  "Huh? No." She shook her head from side to side, realized her hair was a messy tangle around her head, and began self-consciously wrangling it with one hand. "One of them shook me awake, demanding to know where you were sleeping. I punched him in the face and ran out, but there were even more of them searching through the hallways. When they started trying to stab me I yelled for help and that's when I ran into you."

  So the five hadn't been working as a team, and they'd been targeting him? That was a troubling thought, but he had no way of resolving his qu
estions. All the bodies on the floor were already foaming at the mouth, and he was certain that when they were searched, they would have absolutely nothing connecting them to Daek the Knife or the Thieves Guild.

  "Alright," Bloodwraith said, "we need to act quickly. Find the others, get your equipment, and meet downstairs. We'll talk things out there."

  Once he was equipped Bloodwraith felt better, though he also regretted the absence of the equipment that had been sacrificed during his escape. He would need to replace it soon, but he wanted something better as soon as he could manage it. Of course, a better defense than armor would be finding out precisely why Daek was trying to kill them... and why he was targeting only one of them, though he decided to keep that to himself.

  The others gathered soon enough, even Herena, and none of them had been attacked. Rhil'lahan confirmed that the assassins were carrying papers that indicated they had come from outside Cresthaven - likely hired by Daek from among the bandits. Though the Guild was increasing security, they were publicly pretending that it was just another fight among adventurers.

  "That isn't fair!" Danniah struck her fist on the table. "Daek is trying to kill us!"

  "No, we want to maintain the fiction of neutrality." Bloodwraith realized that sounded too intelligent and added a grunt. "Gotta keep him from attacking directly, right?"

  "But it's not fair..."

  While Danniah groaned, Khassfhit shook his head. "This is too much risk for me. I'm going to leave Cresthaven for a while, spend some time in study. I suggest the rest of you do the same."

  "Bah!" Rhil'lahan sat back and put one leg up on the table. "Run if you want. Me, I'll hide in plain sight. This attack just proves the Thieves Guild is a bunch of thugs, not master assassins. If we stay in public, Daek won't be able to touch us."

  "That might help." Herena wasn't looking at any of them, just tapping her staff against the floor rhythmically. "I'm going to talk to my father and fight this - Daek might be powerful, but he can't just do whatever he wants."

  "Unless your father can make him forget a grudge, that isn't going to do any good."

  "He's had grudges before. All we really did was remove his source of income. I mean, he was luring in adventurers to loot them, right?" Herena looked at all of them and Bloodwraith grunted affirmatively. She sighed and continued. "We might have to get Governor Andinn involved. He doesn't like to, but he can be persuaded. I suppose that means more gifts of his favorite cheese and dinners spent flirting with his sons..."

  "Thanks, Herena!" Danniah smiled at her, then looked to the rest of them. "I'm not sure what I'll do, but I'll be extra cautious until Daek stops being so angry. Does that mean we can't go adventuring together anymore?"

  "It was going to happen sooner or later, anyway." Rhil'lahan pulled his foot off the table and hopped to his feet. "You all were good comrades for a time, and I'll never forget that we cleared the Crypt of Cresthaven together. But I have other affairs to deal with."

  With that, he strode from the Guild at a brisk pace. Once he left, it seemed obvious that breaking apart was inevitable, though Bloodwraith wondered if it was just because Rhil'lahan felt threatened in his leadership. Herena ordered a carriage back home, while Khassfhit began quietly preparing for his departure.

  That left Danniah and Bloodwraith alone at the table. She stared at him mournfully. "I was hoping we'd stay together for a long time... are you going to leave too, Raigar?"

  "Not yet." No, there were far too many answers he needed from Cresthaven first. He smiled at Danniah and rose to his feet. "Be careful, Danniah."

  Bloodwraith returned to his room to spend a while contemplating his options in silence. Yet as he walked up the stairs, he heard someone following him. After a flicker of concern, he realized that it was only Danniah. She kept following him, though, and when he entered his room she slipped in after him. When he turned back to look at her she squirmed and looked down at her boots.

  "Umm, Raigar... I wanted to say... gosh, this is hard. I... Raigar..."

  "That isn't my name." He snapped out the words before he could think better of it - curse these barbarian instincts. But he didn't mind Danniah and it irritated him to hear her saying that fool's name while blushing and squirming. Her eyes went wide and she looked at him again.

  "What? You... you lied to me?"

  He stared at her, taken aback. All his thoughts had been moving toward exactly how much to tell her, whether or not to mix lies with truth. That required more mental effort to maintain, but might be worth it with someone as innocent as Danniah. But he had never anticipated that just the difference in name would provoke such a reaction.

  "I... I really liked you, Rai... or, whatever your name is." Danniah stared at him with moist eyes. "Why wouldn't you tell me?"

  For a moment, he considered telling some elaborate story of being a lost prince that might appeal to her, but he hesitated. Danniah might not be the brightest women he'd ever met, but she was no fool. And after her party had taken advantage of her naivety, it felt wrong to lie to her even more.

  But the truth... telling her that he was Bloodwraith, Corrupter of Worlds and Father to the Undead... that didn't seem like a good idea. "Look, I'm not who you think I am." He folded his arms and captured her gaze. "But that doesn't chang-"

  Letting out a quiet sob, Danniah turned and ran from the room. Bloodwraith took a step after her and then hesitated.

  Why had he been so brusque with her? It would have made more sense to apologize, to speak to her gently, to draw her down to the bed and...

  At that moment, the boxes felt very oppressive again. His body wanted that, and though it was illogical not to indulge in the benefits of having a living body, his hatred for Raigar was intense enough that he discarded the thought. No, he wouldn't behave like that. Maybe he was actually falling for another adventurer's instinct, or maybe the "Good" alignment his boxes declared was manipulating him, but he didn't care.

  It irritated him that he'd pushed Danniah away, though. Part of him tried to dismiss her as a foolish tool, to be used and discarded, but honestly she was more than that. Perhaps it was just the body's instincts, but he couldn't deny that-

  [Affection -5!

  Danniah Affection: 84/100]

  "Asinine boxes!"

  Chapter 15

  Just in case some of his confusion was due to the limitations of a living body, Bloodwraith ate a full meal and spent a period of time training. He felt somewhat better, but no more certain about what he should do next. Tired of thoughts of drama, he headed out into Cresthaven to find direct answers.

  It took him some time prowling the street of herbalists, but eventually he found Meara. She was doing mundane work in another woman's stall, her eyes staring blankly across the street. Judging from her rumpled and stained cloak, she might not have changed clothes since the last time he'd seen her. Something of the life she had displayed before had gone from her, but when he drew close, she slowly looked up at him.

  "Hello, adventurer."

  "Peasant girl. Come here, we need to talk." He grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the stall. The owner started to object, then saw how large the sword he was carrying was and shut up. Meara just fixed him with a bitter look.

  "Going to finish what you stopped earlier?"

  "Shut up and follow me." She didn't struggle, obediently going with him as they headed down the street. Bloodwraith checked thoroughly for anyone tailing them, which was difficult in the crowded market, but it seemed like they attracted little attention.

  It wasn't far to the main gate, so he took Meara straight out of the city. Only once they were completely alone, with craggy rocks in between them and the city itself, did he allow himself to breathe normally. Meara simply stood there, staring at him without expression. When he didn't speak immediately, trying to collect his thoughts, she finally spoke again.

  "Just tell me what you want. I'll give it to you, if you promise to kill me."

  Bloodwraith had been planning to st
art by talking about her potion, but that threw him off. "Kill you? Why?"

  "I don't care about the risk of coming back anymore - what I went through in the Forest of Beginnings broke me. I can't go back to a normal life, can't forget that beings can just toy with our world. Even activities like making potions aren't fun anymore - when I think about them at all, they just... break apart. I want to die, but I haven't been able to make myself do it." Her eyes met his flatly. "Please, have mercy. I'll do literally anything for you, just..."

  "No!" Bloodwraith grabbed the front of her robe and lifted her into the air until her eyes were level with his. "Stop acting like a miserable peasant wench!"

  His outburst provoked only a slight twitch of her lips. "And why should I do that?"

  "Because incomprehensible beings from beyond our world have reached into ours and fashioned it into a game for their own kind. And you might be the only person in the world who will believe me."

  "Huh." Meara stared at him for a long time, then closed her eyes. "You can set me down now."

  Anger dissipating, Bloodwraith did as she asked. He saw less despair in her eyes now and more of the nameless apathy he'd seen back in the Forest. This Meara was much preferable.

  "So you want to talk to me because you think I can understand? Is that all?"

  "Something is different about you. It's difficult to explain, but when I look at anything, I see these boxes..." He went on to explain everything in more detail than he had intended. It was a relief to be able to talk about them plainly, Meara simply nodding in understanding. "Anyway, when I look at you, the box becomes strange and twisted. I don't know what it means, but-"

  "It means I'm broken." Meara leaned back against a boulder and sighed. "I've noticed. Unless I focus entirely on making potions, I screw them up in a strange way. I showed you one, actually."