Spectres & Skin: Exodus

by RJ Creed

He cleared the room in three strides and this time I felt instinct almost take over, and I whipped my wrist in a blur of motion, aiming at the space between his pecs. This time, instead of holding his dagger to my throat, a split second before I contacted his skin he raised his own blade and swiped mine out of my hand. It clattered to the floor, and his dagger was at my throat again.

  You have learned the skill Draw Strike!

  He smiled. “Of course, that skill won’t be enough to defeat someone like me, but it’s a start.”

  “It’s a great start,” I said. “Thank you so much.” I resisted the urge to bow like we were in a dojo, and he smiled at me.

  “It’s great fun to be able to pass my skills down,” he said, patting the back of my shoulder. A temptation overtook me, and I couldn’t help myself. My hand hovered at my sheath. “Now if we—”

  I whipped my wrist and my blade nicked his elbow, just enough to draw a pinhead of blood, and he snapped his head around to stare at me in surprise. I grinned weakly, wondering if I had made a huge mistake…

  “You said if my blade touched your skin during the…” I trailed off, but then to my enormous relief Dareth’s face cracked into a smile.

  “Perhaps I underestimated your persistence, which is my fault as a fighter. So it counts, of course it does. Hang on. Here”

  Quest Completed!

  Land a Single Hit

  You have received 100 gold

  You have gained 30 EXP!

  He threw a coinpurse at me and shook his head a little. “You have some potential, I can see it. You’re a long way off, of course.” I nodded. “I’m just trying to think if there is anything else I can teach you at your level. Much of my repertoire is quite advanced. Oh, actually, there is the—”

  A keening alarm sounded suddenly through the building, and Dareth sighed, nodding towards the door. “Your final Acolyte has returned. The Father is calling you to the Hall of Silence. You shouldn’t make him wait.”

  I hesitated before leaving. “Thank you for the experience, Dareth. I’m sure it will come in handy.”

  He nodded firmly. “I know it will. Go, put your blade to good use in the name of the Lady.”

  I nodded back, less excited than I had been just a moment ago. Of course my new mentor expected me to stay and work my way up within the Collective, but I just didn’t think it was for me. I hadn’t even asked what happened to defectors, though. Hopefully nothing too terrible.

  I made my way through the hallway and back to the main area, with its shiny dark walls, glittering with bulging rubies and sapphires.

  “Welcome,” the slippery, cool voice of the Father reached me and I turned to see that he was in his chair with his ghostly griffin at his feet, drumming his fingers on the arms either side of him. His face was still fully obscured by his cloak, and I was closer to him now than I ever had been. Something radiated from him that made me shiver, though I tried to stop myself.

  Samson nearby waved me over, and I quickened my pace to take my place at his side. Soon all Acolytes were next to me. Every one I recognised from the table earlier, except for the final addition: the douchebag kid who had rammed into me on the street. I surreptitiously glanced at him to check his player status.

  Ryken Rook

  Level 6 Human

  Dawnspire Acolyte

  Neutral

  At least he wasn’t Unfriendly. And it looked like he had gained a level while out questing. I made a mental note to myself that there was no way I could beat him in a true fight, but I might stand a chance in a duel now that I had my points allocated.

  “Children,” the Father said. “Brothers and Sisters. You are here to prove your allegiance to the Ivy Lady, and to prove to everyone around you that you would make a fine addition to our family at the Dawnspire Collective.”

  I glanced sideways at Samson who shot me a goofy smile, and though I returned it, inside my heart was racing and I couldn’t stop glancing around, waiting for trouble.

  “You will each be given a lit candle to walk in a circle, symbolising the beginning and the end, and the idea that they are one and the same. The connection that Titania—”

  “My heartbeat; my soul!”

  “—will gift us with again one day. When she returns to be our salvation. In ending, there is beginning.”

  “In ending, there is beginning!” the Brothers and Sisters cried, which made me jump; I hadn’t expected there to be any more chanting. Plus, I was feeling pretty jumpy. What was all this stuff about a goddess returning to end stuff? That was ominous as hell. What was I getting myself into?

  I tried to side-eye Samson to see if he was having the same thoughts as me, but he was smiling dopily at the pretty Sister who was handing him his lit candle, and then one to me as well.

  I swallowed. Death wouldn’t be a fun experience, even if I did come out of it soon enough. Would I respawn where I had first spawned? By the farmhouses outside the gates? Or were there special respawn areas?

  I shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably, and held my candle tight. If I died, I might not ever be allowed to complete this objective or gain whatever loot I might get from this main questline. I wanted to see this shit through.

  When everyone had a candle, we all slowly made our way in a circle around the edge of the hall, eyes darting awkwardly all over the place. I watched nervously as everyone’s candles stayed lit, and willed for this bizarre ritual to end already so I could wipe my sweating palms on my sackcloth.

  Then there was an audible ‘hiss’ and a candle went out. A non-player in his twenties who looked around my age suddenly stopped walking and looked a little pale, but clearly wasn’t aware of his fate because he simply looked up at the Father with a little shrug and smile.

  “Guess it just wasn’t meant to—”

  Brother Caspian grinned, his white teeth flickering menacingly in the candlelight from all angles, and then he pivoted on the spot, drew his brand new blade, and brought it up high.

  “In ending, there is beginning, child,” the Father said.

  Caspian let his sword fall and slice from the guy’s almost visibly thrumming pulse down to his gut. He faltered, and then fell forward hard, split open like a fish.

  Fuck. It was graphic. I winced and Samson yelped right behind me, but the members motioned for us to keep walking.

  Finally we were allowed to stop. The other Acolytes were shaking, sweating, crying, but no one else was snuffed out.

  I let out a breath and then panicked as my flame flickered from the gust. Were we out of the woods yet? The Father raised his hand, and then with a click of his fingers Rae flapped her wings. An unreasonable amount of wind kicked up and every remaining candle went out in unison.

  “Are we just ignoring the body in the middle of the room?” I asked under my breath. No one responded. The dude had already stopped bleeding; he was totally gone. I had to remind myself it wasn’t technically real, but the metallic smell and memory of his twitching threatened to have me keel over at any moment.

  “Remaining Acolytes, prepare for your final judgment,” the Father said. Final judgment. That sounded bad. Were they going to run us through with swords and deem us unworthy if we made a noise? At this point I wouldn’t put it past these guys.

  There was a silence that stretched on for a few minutes. I looked around in confusion, then in boredom, then methodically inspected everyone in the room, and then flicked my eyes upward to stare at the dark dome ceiling and blew hair out of my face.

  “What are we—” I began, but then a wrenching pain overtook my entire body at once. It started in my bones, like they were coated in a thick layer of bubbling acid suddenly, and spread to my blood, and then my skin. My head felt like it was going to burst, and I was only vaguely aware that I was now on my hands and knees, screaming. I couldn’t hear through the ringing in my head.

  I was dying. I knew it. It felt like my heart was being ripped from my body by invisible hands made of hot venom. I retched but nothing came up, than
kfully, and sweat beaded and dripped. What the hell? What was happening to me? Was I dying in real life, or something worse?

  Was I being judged?

  7

  Moro

  My skin felt like it was being carved from my body.

  After a few full minutes of agony, I had to wonder why no one was coming to my aid, and as it began to subside I managed to lift my head and open one eye to look around. I was met with the sight I had forgotten, in my pain, to expect.

  “Protect the Father!” someone was screaming, and Rae had reared up on her hind legs.

  Men wearing thick silver armour were battling fiercely against the Brothers and Sisters of the Collective. Blood spattered around me, and I managed to crawl away from the fray to attempt to recover from whatever was destroying my body from the inside. I pushed myself to a seated position and the pain worsened. With a gut-wrenching cry, I felt my essence leave me entirely; it was as if I had died, and my ghost had stepped outside my body.

  I could see it.

  I blinked a couple of times, and wiped sweat from my brow. The ghost didn’t take the form of me, or of anything, but was instead an amorphous blob that just about looked like it stood on four white swirling legs.

  The clattering of swords and the cries of battle ceased and both factions of men turned and looked at the sight that I was staring at too.

  “He…” someone whispered.

  I looked around, the echo of pain still shivering through my skin, but I felt better now. In fact, I felt good. Pumped, almost. I pushed myself shakily to my feet, back still to the lumpy black wall, and looked at the dozen or so pairs of eyes that were on me, and the blob of swirling ethereal energy that had just wrenched itself from my insides.

  “He has a spectre,” Brother Nickel whispered, his face covered in blood.

  I recognised the man from inside the alleyway door standing next to him and gawping too. “Your goddess is back,” he said, and then shook his head. “No. No no no. Not this. Not yet!”

  “It’s begun!” another armoured man cried, and then backed away. “Brother and brother; spectres and skin. We must prepare for war, comrades.” He shook his head hard and turned and fled the building.

  To my right, I could see the Father shrouded by the curtain, protected by the pacing of his own spectral griffin. Though I still could not see his face, the light in the room reflected in his shining grin as he took me in.

  “Finish this, Rae,” he growled.

  “Silas,” Nickel agreed.

  “I’m not fighting three spectres at once. Fuck!” the alley man spat and he gestured for his men to retreat, fast.

  The viper and the griffin reared their heads at the words, and in unison shot a torrent of fire and a gust of powerful wind respectively. The invaders were knocked back and those who didn’t manage to scramble up and escape the room were charred beyond recognition.

  My HP bar was dangerously low, sinking down until it stopped at 10% and I found I was struggling to catch my breath.

  The other members of the Collective looked around at the destruction, which in a room made up simply of mats and strange shiny black walls was pretty minimal. And then all eyes were back on me. I turned back to the blob and was surprised to see that it was looking more corporeal. It had grown a long tail and its four legs held it up. Large paws splayed across the ground, and a thick muzzle formed in front of what was now a head. Soon I could see the detail of fur, and then I was looking right into the calm golden eyes of a wolf.

  “What the fuck?” I asked it.

  It stared back at me.

  “That guy? Really?” Someone broke the silence with a cry of rage, and I turned to look, still stunned by the events of the last few minutes. It was Ryken; of course. “He is the chosen?”

  “What just happened?” I asked. “What’s it supposed to mean?”

  Important Event!

  These will happen from time to time when you make a big impact on a part of the world, whether on purpose or not.

  The Dawnspire Collective’s goddess, Titania, has returned to look down on Ilyria after twenty years of silence. The Collective believes this means she is soon going to walk the land again, bringing an end to everything, and therefore bringing a new beginning with her.

  Most other people would view the return of the Goddess of Destruction as a bad thing, but not the Collective! They see this as the only way to save their country from the impending doom that the Blight brings.

  There is no way to change an Important Event once it has happened. Such events may drastically alter the world around you.

  I took my time and read all of the text flowing in front of me, and then finally flicked my wrist to dismiss it.

  Why me? I looked around, and saw the flashes of jealousy in the eyes of all of the other members of the Collective, and felt my heart begin to pound. Great. I had been randomly spawned into a cult that wanted to summon a goddess to destroy the land so that the crops could grow again. Or something. Right? Why hadn’t the other players been given one, too? That would have made the most sense, like Samson had said.

  I thought back to Carl telling me that he was willing to give me something extra in the game, depending on where I started out. Was this it? It was … honestly a burden I would rather not have to bear. The rest of my time here was going to be pretty tough.

  “The Ivy Lady smiles upon us! She tells us that the time has come!” the Father cried suddenly, standing and raising his arms. “The time to fight.” Slowly, the Brothers and Sisters began to clap. The other Acolytes joined in, but I noticed the flicker of different emotions in all of their eyes as they looked at me, and I felt very uncomfortable. “Welcome … Initiates.”

  Quest Completed!

  The Initiation

  You have received Spectral Wolf

  You have received 50 gold

  You have gained 200 EXP!

  I rubbed my eyes hard. When I got back I would have to tell Carl that the pain was turned up WAY too high in this game; it was insane. There was no earthly reason that being a chosen one should hurt that bad. I patted myself down to check all my body was intact, and then shook my head hard. 10% health felt terrible. What the hell would death be like? I did not want to find out.

  Congratulations!

  You are now Level 4.

  You have gained 1 Attribute Point.

  You have gained 1 Skill Point.

  I shuddered with relief as my health filled back up to the top, and wiped sweat from my forehead. The wolf ghost was still staring at me. So was everyone else.

  “Hi...” I said to it. It sat down and continued to regard me unblinkingly. “Great. This is a thing now. And a wolf? Really?”

  I finally got the chance to look around and survey the actual carnage. There were four dead Collective members — thankfully no fellow Acolytes — and I counted five (or perhaps fewer, in more parts) members of the mystery group.

  “Brothers Nickel and Caspian will show the Initiates to their sleeping quarters,” the Father said. “After you have rested, please return for your first instructions at dawn.”

  In a dreamlike state, I followed as the two bloodied men showed us through a door that surprisingly led to a staircase. We travelled up the spire a little and then piled into a room complete with a dozen scratchy-looking single beds. When I saw them I realised just how completely exhausted to the bone I was.

  Nickel said something to me and nodded respectfully, and Silas tasted the air around the wolf, who had followed me closely up the stairs. The wolf craned its neck away, clearly uncomfortable.

  “You must find out her name,” Nickel said, resting his hand on my shoulder to make sure I heard him this time.

  “Huh?” I asked, scratching the back of my head. The bed was calling to me…

  “You must listen and hear her name.”

  “We can communicate with each other?”

  “Not as such,” Nickel said, “but she was born in your soul, you have a spirit link.”
<
br />   “Weird,” I muttered.

  “And painful, right?” he added with a friendly wink. “There was a time when all Collective members were gifted one upon Initiation. The last war wiped most of them — us — out. All will be revealed from your studies, though. You must rest before you prepare for the first honourable sacrifice in thirty years. Get some sleep. And Matthew?”

  I turned around with a small frown at his use of my name.

  “Get used to her sooner rather than later. She’s not going anywhere. Not without you, anyway.” He gave a dry laugh, turned and left. Silas tasted the air once again and then turned and quickly caught up with him.

  I stretched out on an unoccupied bed and laced my fingers behind my head, intending to rest my tired muscles for a moment before undressing and getting under the scratchy cover. The wolf curled up weightlessly on my feet.

  The next thing I knew, it was the crack of dawn and I was awoken by the bark of a Brother in the doorway and the scuffling of my fellow Initiates.

  Before I got out of bed, with curiosity I opened up my character sheet to look at what I could put my points in. I had the feeling that the rest of the day wasn’t going to be as easy as I had had it so far. Now that I had some actual power, I was going to go all out and power level as much as I possibly could.

  Name: Matthew Blake — Level: 4 — Progression: 13%

  Race: Human — Specialization: None

  Faction: Dawnspire Collective — Rank: Initiate

  STR: 13

  DEX: 10

  INT: 8

  WIS: 5

  FORT: 10

  CHA: 9 (+4)

  Atk: 6 (+4) — Def: 5 (+2)

  Alliances:

  Dawnspire Collective — Friendly

  After I checked out my sheet, I flicked over to my full Skills list and flicked my eyes over that, too. I had a fair few now. I thought back to what Atraea had said about skills being infinite. That wasn’t possible, though, was it?

  Skills:

  Snickersnee (Level 2 — 85%)