Spectres & Skin: Exodus

by RJ Creed

  Congratulations! Stealth has reached Level 1!

  I blinked as the tiniest shudder rippled through my body. That was my first ever skill level-up! It felt great. I wondered what kind of perks I would achieve through the Stealth tree, and I was also glad that the game wasn’t bitching at me for sneaking around anymore.

  I shifted myself forward as silently as I could until I had a clear view of Nick. I had no camera, obviously, so I guessed that my word would be enough to prove whatever I saw next to Ronan. The door was now ajar and someone inside was talking low. I strained my ears as hard as I could, half expecting to accidentally discover ‘Listening’ as a hidden skill that the game would sarcastically praise me for.

  “Yes, it’s the one handmade for Caspian,” Nick was saying. “He was going to use it for the ceremony later on, but I couldn’t in good conscience hand it over for its blessing before I came to you first. Is there anything we can do to … taint it first?”

  I leaned my head to the right, hoping to catch a glimpse of Nick’s accomplice, but he was hidden by the shadowy interior of whatever room the door led to.

  “You stupid boy, what if you were followed?” the other man growled, with a distinctive throaty accent. “It’s not exactly something I want advertised, that I’m involved with you lot.”

  Nick smirked. “Can you help me or not? This is a great opportunity, I hope you can see that.”

  A great opportunity for what?

  The other man paused. “Come in, bring the sword. Stay away from the windows, boy.”

  Nick entered with a spring in his step and the door clicked shut. Shit! I didn’t really have enough to go back to Ronan yet. Sure he hadn’t made the delivery, but who the hell was he in cahoots with, and to what end? What ceremony were they trying to throw off? As a member of the Collective, I guessed that I was supposed to be super involved in stopping whatever was about to happen, but honestly the Brothers and Sisters all creeped me out so far. I was still fully intending to complete this quest, though, as the only lead to a weapon I had so far after a couple of hours’ play.

  Window; he’d said window. I crept out of the bushes, checking the pretty young lady was gone first, and then crouched and quietly made my way along the wall beside me — the wall that made up the same building Nick had gone inside. When I came to a window, I took a deep breath, and snuck a quick look, lifting up my face to blink inside the dark room.

  The two men were sitting at opposite ends of a thick wooden table, which housed a chunky mug of something frothy and a thick loaf of bread that the older man, who I could see but did not recognise, was tearing into with his dirty hands.

  The sword Nick had brought was laid out on a clean cloth between the two men, and they discussed their plan eagerly. I brought my face away from the main window and concentrated on listening through the hole in the wall from the side, instead.

  “... the ceremony. He’ll use the blade on the Acolytes that aren’t blessed, you know that. We don’t need to resort to violence; Rufus would rather we take care of this peacefully, right? And if we can throw them off, maybe make them think their accursed Titania frowns down upon them, maybe we can introduce discord among them!” Nick was saying animatedly. “It’ll be better than your plan. Bursting in and offing people left and right? You have to admit, the rebels and the Falchion can do better than that.”

  I was taken aback at his words. The blade was going to be used on the Acolytes? Well, shit. It looked like my actual life depended on … Nick. Or so it seemed. Why did the guy hate me so much? Maybe he just automatically had a problem with anyone wearing this Collective outfit? That made some sense, actually, if he had been sent here to piss them off. Especially if his comrades were considering offing the Brothers ‘left and right’. Was the initiation going to go this badly wrong?

  “Do you have enough gold from the old blowhard to go back to Onorton yet?” the older man growled, tearing at the bread with his teeth. My stomach rumbled.

  “I’ve snagged what he’s paid me and then the same again from the fool’s coffers,” Nick said with pride.

  So what was I supposed to do here? He was taking advantage of his position with Ronan, and he was in fact some kind of an infiltrator from outside the city, which was pretty much what I was meant to find out … but it was possible that his purpose, his meddling, was going to save my life, or the lives of others.

  I could feel my hands becoming clammy and I had to remind myself that although death wasn’t going to be fun, it wasn’t going to be permanent. I almost had to laugh at myself for getting worked up about the prospect. I would respawn, and suffer a few drawbacks, but I would be fundamentally fine. My body existed happily elsewhere.

  Which, incidentally, was the first time all day I had even thought about my real life body.

  I turned my attention back to the matter at hand, though.

  “So can you help? Or do I hand the enemy a finely crafted blade with my own hands?”

  The other man sighed. “You would do well to lay low, follow orders, blend in and stay quiet, boy,” he said. “You are only supposed to observe and skim a couple of gold pieces to hire an escort back to Onorton, after all. This may be going too far.”

  Nick leaned back with a squeak of his chair. “I don’t want to hand this blade to him with no second thought, when we could sow unease instead. Why not?”

  “We could curse it, but they have priests to check for that. That’s one of the first things they would do, and you and your blacksmith boss would be put to death.”

  Nick stayed silent for a second. “What if I tell them I was robbed by a masked man? You could rough me up and then I’d have to make a new blade from scratch, delaying their ceremony by a day.”

  The man guffawed. “What would that achieve? You’re a fool; you’re still just a child. You know nothing of war.”

  “Is it war if we ignore every possible opportunity for subterfuge?” Nick spat, standing up and shaking his head bitterly. I watched from the corner of the window with great interest.

  “If we lose all of our rebellion to stupidity, to naivety that could have been avoided … what then?” the man countered, staying relatively calm. “Rufus builds up a new group and it takes him ten years, and by then the Blight spreads all over Ilyria. The North blame the South, and war breaks out again. Towns and villages are cleaned out by marauders, and the rest are picked off by crazed, starved animals. For now you should just be glad you’re getting a square meal every day!” he spat, ending by slapping the table as Nick sank back into his seat.

  What would happen to the kid if I reported him to Ronan? Shit, I had no idea what to do. This was all becoming complicated, very quickly.

  “Come, let’s have a drink and we will discuss the sword further,” the old man said, a calming tone entering his gruff voice, and he led Nick out of the small room and left the sword on the table, glinting in the midday sunlight.

  I swallowed, remembering the stats on that sword. There was a third option: I could steal the sword. Maybe sell it on the black market. Ugh; I didn’t have any idea where the black market was. What was I thinking?

  Something moved in the corner of my vision and I realised that the icon for a notification had flashed up again. I swiped my hand, after a brief glance around to check that I was still alone.

  Attention! The parameters of your current quest have changed.

  Please view it again by selecting your journal.

  Huh. Interesting. I swiped it away and then flicked my fingers through the air a second time to bring up my quest journal.

  Active Quest

  A Traitorous Assistant?

  Ronan, a Dawnspire Blacksmith, suspects that his new assistant, Nick, is a secret refugee here to steal from him and then escape the city. Follow him and find out what you can about his identity.

  You have learned that Nick has infiltrated the city gates in order to spy on the Dawnspire Collective, and perhaps to sow discord among them. Report this to Ronan or to Brot
her Nickel OR talk to Nick first.

  Reward: 20 gold/Unknown

  90 EXP

  So the reward for the quest had changed to ‘unknown’ — I assumed that was if I chose to go and talk to the Collective about this guy. It was a tough decision. I had been born into this alliance and it was possibly the best way I was going to get to level up and get stronger, but then again … if they were really going to kill some of the Acolytes at the ceremony when I turned in my quest … how could I justify letting Nick be punished for wanting to stop that?

  After some hesitation, I made a snap decision. Because, hey, you have to be reckless sometimes, right? Or all the time. I hadn’t figured out what kind of a player I was quite yet, but so far it seemed like ‘a dumb one’ was the answer. I needed some damn experience and equipment, and I needed it quick.

  Luke was probably already getting crowned King of the Goddamn North.

  I placed my hands on the outside of the window and stuck my head inside. I figured my shoulders would just about fit, but it would be a squeeze, and then—

  “Excuse me?”

  I jerked backwards and twisted my body around, feeling like a deer in the headlights. The pretty young woman from before was standing right behind me, fiddling with her hands and blushing a little. She had long, cascading strawberry blonde hair and big blue eyes, and she was dressed in a clean, expensive-looking green dress.

  “Um…” I said, having no idea how to explain this away.

  “Are you the new gardener?”

  I opened and closed my mouth. “I…”

  “It’s alright, I don’t need to take up much of your time. It’s just … you look quite … capable. I was wondering if you could aid me quickly.” She spoke with a soft voice and carefully enunciated every word; she was clearly from a wealthy family who lived inside this city, and I pursed my lips and simply nodded.

  “Do you know much about plants?”

  Um. “Sure,” I said.

  You have discovered a hidden skill!

  Deception: What a great skill to earn! You’re clearly a standup guy. (That was an example of Deception. Not that I have to tell you...)

  Related Attribute: CHA

  Fucking game.

  “What do you need?” I asked, ignoring the floating text.

  “My Minxy has a terrible case of the Bane of Oakheart, from what I can tell. Her belly is all red and itchy. Could you just come over here and help me to identify these two plants? I’ll find a way to repay you, I just don’t want to get it wrong.”

  I followed her silently to a patch of earth in a well-tended part of the garden. I wondered what had actually happened to the gardener, because he wasn’t anywhere nearby but the place looked immaculate.

  “Obviously I don’t have to tell you that one of these plants is the Rumex.” She pointed at two little plants low to the ground. One had a large, flat, flimsy green leaf, and one had a large, flat, flimsy slightly darker green leaf. “I don’t want to get it wrong, because the other one is probably in the Radica family, which is surely what gave her the Bane in the first place … oh, Rebas, look at me! Explaining plants to an expert.” She smiled wide at me, her big blue eyes glittering, and I grinned wide. There was no way I was going to let her down, especially when her dog/cat/lizard/fish was in peril. I was a goddamn hero!

  New Quest!

  A Question of Plants

  Letitia Graystone’s lapdog has a bad rash on her stomach. Rumex is a known cure for the Bane of Oakheart, but which plant is it? The Radica and Rumex are almost identical. She will think badly of you for walking away, but far worse for picking the wrong plant.

  Reward: Unknown Item(s)

  50 EXP

  Accept/Deny

  50 EXP, oh man, that wasn’t even that high. But the unknown items were calling out to me. Maybe I wouldn’t need to get involved with the rebellion/Collective shitshow until I actually needed to. Although I knew full well that I was going to, so I might as well admit it to myself. However, I figured the lady might give me something nice if I guessed right.

  If I guessed wrong, though … I was going to screw myself over.

  “Let me check them out closer,” I said loudly, flicking the ‘Accept’ and watching the quest dissipate as usual. I knelt and hovered my hand over both plants. Shit. What was I going to do? It was 50/50, but I didn’t want to guess. What the hell was the Bane of Oakheart anyway?

  I had a really stupid idea, and I sighed and rolled my eyes upwards for a moment before plucking a leaf from both plants, rolling up my ankle, and rubbing them both furiously at my leg skin in different spots. It was just an itchy rash, right? God I was an idiot, but what else could I do? Risk destroying relationships with an upper class family so early in the game? Or get a rash that could apparently quickly be cured by one of these leaves?

  To my delight and also great sadness, the rightmost patch began to itch and turn red, while the left patch remained a simple smear of green. I pulled two more leaves from the left plant, the lighter leaf, and presented them to Letitia. “Here,” I said with a smug smile. “This is the—” Uhh… “—good plant.”

  She clapped her hands together in joy and took the leaves from me. “As I suspected!” she cried. “Thank you so much, um, what is your name?”

  “Matt,” I said.

  “Oh,” she said, nodding and looking fascinated. “Here. I don’t have much on me. Take these.” She pulled up her apron and retrieved a silver ring that looked half the size of my fingers, and a handful of coins. “Thank you again, Matt. I look forward to seeing you again.”

  Quest Completed!

  A Question of Plants

  You have received Silver Ring of Charisma

  You have received 20 gold

  You have gained 50 EXP!

  She blushed crimson as she spoke and then turned and ran around the corner to tend to her lapdog. I found myself grinning stupidly as she disappeared, and then looked in my hand to appraise the item she had left me. I could probably sell it for a fair amount somewhere, and get something even nicer from Ronan later.

  Silver Ring of Charisma

  Flawless Quality

  CHA: +4

  Req: Charisma 8

  Weird. A minimum Charisma requirement for a Charisma boost? I guessed that meant the ring couldn’t take a total weirdo and make them charming, but could make an already fine person seem a touch more irresistible. It was a shame it wouldn’t fit me. I slipped it onto my finger to test it anyway and was surprised to see that it fit perfectly.

  The game must have made some items, if not all, able to be universally worn. That was great. I pulled up my stats again before I turned to dive back into that window.

  Name: Matthew Blake — Level: 1 — Progression: 65%

  Race: Human — Specialization: None

  Faction: Dawnspire Collective — Rank: Acolyte

  STR: 12

  DEX: 10

  INT: 8

  WIS: 5

  FORT: 9

  CHA: 9 (+4)

  Atk: 6 (+0) — Def: 5 (+0)

  Alliances:

  Dawnspire Collective — Friendly

  Skills:

  Stealth (Level 1 — 25%)

  Improvised Combat (Level 0 — 65%)

  First Aid (Level 0 — 40%)

  Speech (Level 0 — 90%)

  Deception (Level 0 — 50%)

  I had been here for hours and I hadn’t gained a level! This was getting ridiculous. At this rate, Luke was going to be leaps and bounds ahead of me, and by the time we met up he’d have to carry me through every dungeon we found. That was unacceptable. I made a vow to push myself and hurry myself along from here on out. I knew that once I found some good gear I could do some exploration and harder quests, so it would speed up soon enough. I was counting on it.

  With my newfound resolve, I easily squeezed my body through the window, high though it was, and then lowered myself as close to the table as I could before letting myself drop with a clunk. I cursed myself silentl
y and got down, as quiet as I could, and then spent a moment inspecting the sword.

  I couldn’t go up against the Collective, not at level 1 with just a couple of rebels beside me. I remembered clearly how incredibly powerful the Father and Brother Nickel had seemed. I hadn’t even been allowed to see what level the Father was at. And he had a damn pet griffin.

  I had come close to some kind of a meaningful decision, maybe, when I felt the unfamiliar but unmistakeable sensation of cold steel against my neck. My pulse kicked against the dagger at my throat, and I swallowed.

  “You,” Nick’s voice hissed in my ear and I smelled honeyed mead on his breath. “What are you doing here? The Collective sent you? The delivery is only a minute late!” he roared. “You can’t prove anything!”

  I swallowed again, trying to gather myself and also trying not to move an inch. I didn’t know how much I’d lose at death, but I didn’t want to find out, now that I had just gained my first and only loot.

  “Listen…” I said quietly, without moving a muscle. “The Collective didn’t send me.”

  “Liar! I can see your pendant. You’re one of them, alright.”

  “I’m not initiated yet,” I said carefully. “They didn’t send me. Ronan did.”

  “...Ronan did?”

  “Yes, he thinks you’re suspicious. Which, dude, you need to be better at hiding that,” I couldn’t help but point out.

  He let the dagger drop to his side and I turned around.

  Congratulations! Speech has reached Level 1!

  I felt a warmth fill my body and the tiniest surge of newfound confidence as my skill grew.

  “Look, I don’t want trouble, but I managed to overhear you and the guy talking and is that stuff true? Are they going to kill some of us at the ceremony?”