Spectres & Skin: Exodus

by RJ Creed

  “And then leave and never come back?”

  He looked at me, green eyes burning. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to miss Dawnspire one bit.”

  We turned back to the girls.

  “We need a plan,” I pointed out, “to keep you fed and alive and safe without alerting the Collective that you’re still alive.”

  “Oh, we have enough food for a couple of weeks,” Alina said. “We stole a few cattle over the last few days … which is why you were sent to find us … and I know a spell to pull the moisture from meat. We will run out of vegetables soon enough, but there are a couple of wild apple trees nearby. We will be able to stay alive for a few months now. Thank you for sparing us,” she said again, bowing her head.

  I thought for a moment. “Just a few months,” I repeated. “Then what?”

  “I understand your concern. If the Father realises that you have deceived him, he will have your heads,” Alina said.

  “Well, yes, but they’ll also send other members to come and finish what we didn’t,” I said, looking at her pointedly. She flushed at the thought, and lowered her head.

  “Yes,” she said quietly. The other two girls looked at her, alarmed. I didn’t want this to happen.

  “Screw the Collective,” I said. “We’ll figure something out.”

  She looked up again. “To take them down? Do you know Rufus?”

  That name again. “No, I don’t,” I said truthfully. “Is he working on taking them down?”

  Alina nodded excitedly. “We’ve been thinking of going to join him, but Onorton’s gates have recently become just as tightly shut as Dawnspire’s.”

  Onorton. I would try to remember that.

  “Is he having any success?” I asked.

  Her face fell a little again, and she gave a meaningful sideways glance at the young girls. It seemed as though she didn’t want to give bad news in front of them. I had to take that for the negative response that it seemed to be. But at least someone was trying. I looked at Ryken, and he looked at me. Seemed like we had some kind of understanding. I looked back at Alina.

  “We’re going to help you,” I said. She smiled up at me, a genuine, bright smile. “Not just that … we’re going to find Rufus and see if we can help take down the Collective.”

  Suddenly a bright light and a tingling pricked across my skin. I couldn’t help but suck in a breath as a wall of glowing text appeared in front of me, all sparkles and exclamation marks.

  You have unlocked goals!

  A goal is your most important quest. You can only have one goal at a time. When you view your goal you can also see known Obstacles and Assets. Completing a quest associated with your goal will give you x1.5 EXP! Completing your goal will give you 10,000 EXP! View the details of your goal to learn more.

  Your goal page will be updated as more information is learned.

  New Goal!

  TAKE DOWN THE COLLECTIVE

  Obstacles:

  The Collective (-2500)

  Assets:

  Alina (+25)

  Chance for Success:

  0%

  I let the information wash over me Well, alright; looked like I had inadvertently chosen my purpose in this game.

  “You must find Rufus,” Alina said. “If you really do want to help people like us.”

  “We need more time before you starve to death,” Ryken pointed out. “And the refugees out there. They need food too.”

  Since when did he care about other people like this?

  “The bone minions, are they easy to control?”

  Alina shook her head. “It’s draining.”

  “Can you teach other people how to control them?”

  I wasn’t sure yet where this was going, so I stayed silent.

  Alina gave a low laugh. “The day the Collective came to me and asked me to teach skin magic … the apocalypse must finally be here!”

  Ryken’s lips thinned into a pseudo-smile. “We aren’t the Collective,” he reminded her. “Can it be taught or not?”

  “Yes,” she said. “But I would need some supplies that I don’t have.”

  “Name them.”

  “What’s this for?” I asked him quietly.

  He shot a look back at me like I wasn’t keeping up. Which was accurate. “We need an army,” he said.

  “It’s too soon for that,” I argued. “But you might find life a little easier if you joined forces. Lucius can train you to use a sword, and you can teach them a little skin magic. Then eventually, you can fight for us.”

  Alina looked at me carefully. “If you manage to keep us alive, of course we will fight against the Collective. They have destroyed our lives. Everything we had. We will train, if you provide food.”

  “Not here,” I added. “You’ll all need to leave.”

  “That’s not a bad idea,” Alina said. “Increasing our numbers would help us if anyone were to come for us. But if you don’t find a way to bring us food, we will die. We can’t steal.”

  “You could farm,” I said. “Build. All settlements have to start somewhere.”

  Congratulations! Speech has reached Level 3!

  “An underground settlement,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “Our bone minions could dig out the caverns under a hill near to a trade route from Dawnspire, and you can find out how to send us supplies. We could farm. We could live a real life.”

  I nodded firmly. “Consider it done.”

  “We’ll call it … Freehill,” Sandre cried, standing up. “And we will be the first Freehill people!”

  “I love it, Sandre,” Alina said, and they happily embraced.

  New Quest!

  Freehill

  The ‘witches’ and Lucius’ refugees could help each other out and begin a small underground settlement. First you must tell Lucius to bring the refugees to meet the girls, and then you must figure out a way to have merchants bring supplies (building, farming) to Freehill from Dawnspire — without notifying the Collective.

  This quest relates to your goal!*

  Reward: Unknown Item(s)

  *225 EXP

  Accept/Deny

  Looked like I would get extra EXP from this quest since it related to taking down Dawnspire, in the long run. I was pumped and ready to go.

  “Let’s go talk to Lucius,” I said to Ryken, who agreed. I turned back to the girls. “And what supplies do you need in order to teach people the basics of skin magic?”

  She let out a breath, and looked nervous, even though she knew by now that we were most definitely not going to punish her for her use of dark magic.

  “Well, you know the basics,” she said, which was assuming a lot. I looked as blank as I could. “You know. I need an item to imbue with the essence of No One.” She paused again until she finally realised that not just me, but Ryken too didn’t know a thing about skin magic. “Get me one item made of metal for each of the refugees. One that is easy enough to carry around. Daggers or knives are popular as they hold more than one use. Necklaces, rings, and so on are also popular. I need one for each student. I also need the book on skin magic from the library. There is only one, and Leo refuses to get rid of it because of its worth. It’ll be well-guarded. Steal it, and get all of those things to us along with some farming supplies, and we’ll be fine.”

  Ryken turned to me. “Let’s make the items all swords, and kill two birds with that, since Lucius will hopefully teach them all how to use a blade.” I nodded; that sounded reasonable. “Also, let me steal the book. I have experience.” He looked away for a moment. “And if I get caught, let’s hope Rae still doesn’t want to kill me.”

  “Getting caught stealing a book on dark magic will have you banished for good,” I reminded him. “At least.”

  “Good,” he said, pale face darkening. “I was outgrowing that godforsaken city anyway.”

  Nickel turned the bloody ring over in his hands with a barely concealed smile on his face, and I eyed Silas up as subtly as I could as he
did so.

  Level 28, and Titania only knew how many spells the snake was packing. I still hadn’t figured out how to do a single one. Gellert could have helped me figure it out, but he was dead.

  “Well done, boys. It’s a shame we lost one of you, but … I guess that’s the will of the goddess.” He gave a languid shrug and I had the feeling that no more would be said on the subject of Gellert LaStrade, which was probably what I should have expected from these people.

  “So he hasn’t … come back here?” I checked. Just in case.

  Nickel raised an eyebrow. “No,” he said. “Ryken told me he died.”

  I lowered my gaze to the floor. “Right,” I said.

  “Looks like you did a good job,” he said. “Hopefully our farmers will be able to turn in their quotas now without so much complaint.” He chuckled lightly as if it was hilarious. I remembered my quest with the farm girl, and wasn’t able to pretend to laugh along with him. The rule of the Collective was one in which nobody won, except for the Collective. And even that was debatable when it came to the strict rules and chance to die during Initiation…

  Quest Completed!

  Something Wicked...

  You have received 30 gold

  Your reputation with the Dawnspire Collective has increased by +500

  You have gained 100 EXP!

  Lucius had accepted our offer to go back to the witches’ cavern and eat their food. He had accepted it faster than we could get it out; the poor guy was starved almost to death. With twenty new people in the caverns, the dehydrated meat and apples would last them roughly ten days without harsh rationing. The quest had altered to show me a ten day timer.

  If I couldn’t convince a merchant to bring them farming supplies and food to tide them over within plenty of time, they were all going to die, or be forced to go out and steal, and out our betrayal to the Collective.

  Shit. I was on day 4 of 7, as well. Did I have time to complete all my promises to these people? What had I been thinking? That I could step into an alternate reality for a week and then just wander back to my desolate life clinging to a rotting ball of garbage as it speedily ran out of resources?

  What was I doing, thinking I could ever go back?

  10

  Excision

  Name: Matthew Blake — Level: 4 — Progression: 62%

  Race: Human — Specialization: None

  Faction: Dawnspire Collective — Rank: Initiate

  STR: 14

  DEX: 10

  INT: 8

  WIS: 5

  FORT: 10

  CHA: 9 (+4)

  Atk: 7 (+4) — Def: 5 (+15)

  Alliances:

  Dawnspire Collective — Very Friendly

  After a quick glance at the main page of my character sheet, I handed over a few gold coins and got a full meal in exchange from the vendor in the food hall, and I couldn’t help but feel guilty as I filled my stomach with ease when so many people were struggling. In the end I couldn’t even finish the food I’d bought, so I wrapped it up and took it with me when I left.

  The sun was high overhead as I wandered, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated with full HP and full stamina. It took me a lot less time than I thought it would to find Roark’s shop again, and when I entered, he was very pleased to see me.

  “Matthew!” he cried, and clapped his hand against his thigh, standing up and leaving his lunch behind. “How’s the leather treating you? Saved your skin yet?”

  I smoothed my palm over my light armour and grinned. “It’s great, Roark, thank you.”

  “If you’re not here to complain about any errant stab wounds, are you here to talk about what … my friend mentioned?”

  I nodded as casually as possible, picking at some leather shoes on a display shelf beside me. “He’s not here, is he?”

  “He’s not. Funny fellow. Comes and goes as he pleases; not as hard to spot, though, as he believes.”

  I snorted at Roark’s comment — the man did have an air of someone who believed that he blended in with the background, when the reality was probably anything but. Everyone wants to stare at the man wearing a black leather armour who has no visible face, after all.

  “Do you know what you want me to do?” I asked. “I’m headed to Hrzog anyway since he owes me a lesson in Smithing.”

  Roark smirked with one side of his mouth. “I am not so proud as him, that I would want to punish somebody for playing a joke on me — no matter how cruel that joke turned out to be.” I raised my eyebrows in agreement. “But it could be seen as a … slight, when it comes to a guild we may or may not be restoring to its former glory.”

  Excitement coursed through me suddenly. “Guild? The White Suns?”

  He eyed me for a moment, and then nodded. “What do you know of us? I wear the pendant to signify my ex alignment to a dead guild.” He gestured to the blazing star around his neck. “But, should they be revived, I’d have to hide it again. I expect you not to tell people any … unnecessary information.”

  Like what? “Are you like a thieves’ guild?” I asked. Joining some kind of extra faction or guild would be exactly what I needed right now — an opportunity to make some strong alliances with people who weren’t in the Dawnspire Collective.

  “Hush, boy,” he said, eyes darting around suddenly. “Where did you hear that?”

  I shrugged. “Nowhere. Hrzog called you a Master Thief, and your friend seems pretty shady.”

  “I suppose … if they were to revive … they would occasionally steal things, but it’s more than that. The White Suns was a guild that went above or below the law to achieve things that were for the greater good.”

  “Sounds exactly what Dawnspire needs right now,” I commented, and Roark gave my pendant a quick glance before nodding.

  “So you’d be willing to help?”

  “Definitely. I’m interested in … finding alternate ruling for the city,” I said as diplomatically as possible. He didn’t look confused, but instead gave a simple nod. “Would the White Suns also be interested in that?”

  “I wouldn’t say no, should the guild actually exist,” he said, looking down and smoothing a piece of clothing. “Which, of course, it doesn’t. And my alignment with it has long been over.”

  “Right,” I said, then leaned in closer. “I’m going to see the orc now. Let me know how to prove myself to you.”

  Roark looked around in thought, and then up at me. “A true member of the Collective wouldn’t cause true mayhem in the streets.”

  “I guess not.”

  “I have an idea. Hrzog is a brash orc. It’s not just me he has something of a feud with. Next door to him is an armoursmith called Balin, and they’ve been friends to enemies to friends again for years. I think you might want to test that friendship, and then we’ll consider telling you more about what secrets there may or may not be underneath the city of Dawnspire. At the same time, you can prove whether you’ll be any worth to us.”

  “Cool,” I said. “What do I do?”

  Roark’s eyes betrayed some excitement. “Hrzog has a pet project that he has been working on for a couple of years. As most people in the city know, it’s Ronan who makes the sturdiest daggers, but Hrzog wants a monopoly on steel. Arrogant orc.” He shook his head. “In his locked basement is a wooden chest, and in that chest he keeps his pride and joy: the prototype dagger he has been working on. He says it is perfection itself, but rumour is that he hasn’t been able to recreate it. It was made so well almost by accident. Steal it, and plant it in Balin’s lockbox on his counter. That’s one of the first places Hrzog will look, I guarantee it. Then he will suspect a team-up between the two of them. He would love to believe that everyone is out to get him. It will be beautiful. Such a scene.”

  “Steal a dagger, plant it. Got it.”

  “You’re in?”

  New Quest!

  Excision

  Carefully extract Hrzog’s pet project from the locked chest in his shop’s basement, and then plant it in
Balin’s lockbox next door.

  Reward: Unknown Item(s)

  100 EXP

  Accept/Deny

  I nodded. “I’m in.”

  “Really?” he asked. “Listen, I know you’re new, but … if you get caught, I don’t know how you’d explain this away to the Brothers at the Collective.”

  “It’s alright,” I said, though I wasn’t sure. Completing my ultimate goal would probably be easier if I was still a member, but I was certain that getting an up and coming criminal syndicate hidden in their very city on my side was going to be a considerable asset.

  “Alright, I’ve heard rumours already that Ronan wants to steal Excision — the dagger — for himself, so it won’t be difficult to convince the oaf of an orc that he’s out to get him, and working together with Balin. Hrzog would love to be proven right,” Roark said. “Good luck.”

  I nodded at him, and then made my way out of his store and onto the now-familiar stretch of road that led up to Hrzog’s Hammer, my own dagger’s sheath a solid presence against my thigh, even through my armour.

  I strolled into Hrzog’s shop to see him finishing up a sale with the biggest hungry grin on his green face.

  “Thank you. And I trust what happened before won’t happen again,” the Brother said, sliding his new blade into his sheath before turning around to look at me. I didn’t recognise the man but knew instantly that he was a member of the Collective higher ranked than me, by his pendant and his demeanour. This wasn’t good. I acted as polite as possible with a small nod, and to my surprise the man smiled at me like we were old friends.

  It must have had something to do with my recent reputation increase, I figured. The man said nothing to me but jovially nodded at Moro before leaving the store. Just before he left, though, he turned around and pointed at me.

  “If the orc steps another fat green toe out of line, Initiate, you have my express permission to deal with him yourself.”

  The door clicked shut behind him, and I turned around with eyebrows raised high back to Hrzog, who huffed a sigh. “How can I help you, Init— oh, it’s you.” He looked a little perked up, as he recalled what I had ‘done’ for him.