We scrambled to our feet to see what the commotion was. There didn’t seem to be any monsters in the vicinity but the Mecharriage had stopped and the fighter group was outside.

I made my way to the front of the Mecharriage.

What’s going on out there? Do you need help?

Joe replied with a sound of amusement in his voice. A knight and a wizard are about to get in a fight. Want to have a front-row seat?

We made our way to the exit, curious to see what Joe was talking about.

Is this some kind of a joke?

Rundell was laughing when he replied. Nope. This is really going down. The wizard is trying to talk his way out of it but this short knight in purple armor is about to cleave him in half.

There were a few dead monsters next to the knight. He was a stout knight covered from head to toe in purple plate armor topped with a helmet that looked like a bucket. Hoisted above his head was a greatsword that might have been bigger than mine.

The man he was approaching was wearing a ragged robe that covered his face. The only thing that I could make out at a distance was a long brown beard that stuck out.

Do any of you know why they are fighting? Who killed all of the monsters?

Honora answered. We stopped when we saw the travelers. It wasn’t until we disembarked that we discovered them facing off. What would you like us to do, Emperor Murphy?

Melvin is still fine.

Joe laughed. That’s good because I wasn’t about to start calling you emperor anything. Can you make me some popcorn? This is going to be a good fight.

If the fighters had noticed our rather large group pull up alongside them, they hadn’t shown any sign of it yet. When I made it over to the group, I could hear that the man in the robe was pleading with the knight. “Please. It’s a misunderstanding. You don’t need to kill me.”

I took a few steps closer to the pair. The knight ignored the man’s plea and moved closer, sword still raised. I could see that the man in the robe was looking at me out of the corner of his eye as he continued to beg for his life. “You don’t need to do this. There is a prophecy. I will be saved by a scrawny boy. It will happen.”

It was obvious that he was referring to me. However, he did mention a prophecy and curiosity got the better of me so I inspected him.

Name

Crypian

Class

Prophet

Level

15

Affection Level

Untrusting

I gaped at the man. It was the prophet. The same one that had given prophecies in the last two towns, including the one that Kalli refused to tell me about.

“Hold it.” I shouted, not wanting the man to die until I had to chance to at least talk to him. “You can’t kill that man.”

Finally, the knight turned his head and acknowledged us, speaking in a deliberately gruff voice. “This one is mine. Stay out of it.”

The rest of the group stepped up behind me. Joe, who had retreated to the Mecharriage, manned a cannon which he aimed at the knight and asked in group chat, What do you want to do? Take out the tin can?

I held up a hand to delay him, materializing my greatsword as I inspected the knight.

Name

Alariel Vestara

Class

Void Knight

Level

37

Affection Level

Honor Bound

“He’s high level.” I began while raising my sword the same way Alariel did. “Be careful.”

Kiki rushed past me and exclaimed, “He’s not higher level than me. I’ll punch this jerk in the butt.”

I sighed and raced after her. “Damnit Kiki. Let’s avoid fighting if we can help it.”

It was too late, Kiki rushed in with a superman punch which Alariel deftly dodged, bringing the hilt of his sword down on Kiki’s shoulder as she sailed past.

She landed on the ground in a cloud of dust and grunted in pain. By the time she rose to her feet, we had the void knight surrounded. I tried again. “Can we resolve this without violence? Why are you after the prophet?”

Alariel raised the sword over his head once again, not showing any signs of standing down. “He is wanted as a person of interest regarding this plague.”

I dissipated my sword, hoping to get Alariel to lower his, and asked, “What did he do? Is this a situation where you need to kill him? Can’t we all just talk about it?”

Though I couldn’t see her move, I sensed Kalli walk up to the prophet who made no effort to defend himself. She whispered, “Are you okay?”

He nodded quietly, watching the conversation with the void knight intently. Alariel lowered the sword and heaved a sigh, saying, “You may speak to him but it is imperative that he come with me.”

“Where do you intend to take him?” I asked out of curiosity more than anything else.

Alariel sheathed the blade at his back and replied, “Out of the dark lands, of course. He must be interrogated if we are to end this scourge.”

“Why not take him to one of the villages?”, I continued my line of questioning.

The void knight turned to face me. I couldn’t read him through the bucket he wore for a helmet. “No one can go to the villages in the dark lands and live. How did you lot get in here in the first place?”

Kiki stepped up to Alariel and clubbed him on the head, causing the helmet to clang. “Melvin here can cure the plague. We have cured two villages already and are on our way to a third.”

“That is impossible.” Alariel screeched in a high-pitched voice, betraying his emotion. “The plague is incurable. That’s why we quarantined the area. That’s why I need to take this interloper back to my kingdom. The people of this land are lost. We need to take measures to ensure that the blight doesn’t spread.”

Getting an idea, I suggested, “Why don’t you come with us to the next village? I can make you immune to the plague and you can see for yourself that this land isn’t a lost cause.”

“Who are you?” Alariel heaved incredulously.

Honora answered for me, “This is Emperor Melvin Murphy the First of Meltopia. My name is Honora and I am a citizen of the town of Kalliville. I once had the plague and he cured me. I am living proof of his words.”

Alariel didn’t move for a few minutes. The tension was thick in the air as we all kept an eye on the greatsword in case he tried anything. Suddenly, the void knight raised his hands and took the bucket helm off.

Underneath was purple hair tied back neatly over a distinctly feminine face. Alariel was a woman. More appropriately, a girl. She didn’t look much older than any of us were. She stepped up to me and handed me the purple helmet. “I am placing my life in your hands. Please make me immune to this plague. If I can help you save the people of this land, I will risk my own to do so.”

I pulled up her menu again to add the trait.

Skills

Traits

Void Manipulation

Affinity: Void

Shadow Blast

Mastery: Greatsword

Magical Plague Immunity(Edited)

“All done.” I announced, turning to walk over to the prophet.

He seemed rather smug when he looked me up and down. “Emperor Melvin, the gods have prophesied your arrival. Allow me to tell you about…”

I cut him off, “How do you get your prophecies? You told the people of Mount Wendy that a hero from another world would come to rescue them. How did you know about me?”

The man hesitated for a moment before saying, “Ah, you’re that guy. Well, I knew you were coming from the…well. Okay fine, I make the prophecies up and they come true.”

He spluttered in shock when Kalli turned and punched him in the face. Looking up at her from the ground, he asked, “What? Why?”

She glowered at the man and said, “How dare you make that happen to me. I refuse to forgive you. A lot of people saw me the way you predicted.”

A look of realization dawned on the man’s face and he said, “Oh, you got caught up in that prophesy. Look, Miss, I meant no harm. Perhaps I need to explain to all of you how my skill works. Give me a chance. I promise you’ll like it.”

We didn’t talk again until we were moving. I asked the prophet, “How did you not get the plague?”

He grinned at me. “It’s part of my skill. It was prophesied that I wouldn’t get it so that I could be a beacon in this dark land. So, of course, I never get sick.”

“Who goes around making prophecies like that?” I asked, still not believing that he could make a self-fulfilling prophecy. “Do you follow some god that passes them off to you, or are you an oracle of some sort?”

He shrugged, “I make them up as I go. There are limits though. It has to come to me or it won’t come true.”

I chose that moment to check out the prophet a little closer.

Skills

Traits

Dream it up

Affinity: Prophecies

Dark Proclamation

Truthful Limitation

“I don’t see how you’re immune to the plague.” I continued.

He laughed and explained, “You have some kind of ability to scan me, don’t you? Well, something that appears in a prophecy wouldn’t show up for you. My prophecies protect me like a shield. It enables me to travel the land safely. Within limits of course. If you hadn’t happened along when you did, I am afraid that knight would have slain me.”

Kalli suggested, “Why don’t you just make a prophecy that makes everyone immune to the plague or just makes the plague go away?”

The Prophet frowned and said, “I am afraid it doesn’t work that way. If the prophecy gets rejected in my head, I can’t make it come true. I have limits to what I can make happen.”

Turning red, Kalli blurted out, “You made a prophecy that I would show up as a naked flaming angel. Why did you have to make me naked? That was so embarrassing.”

She turned to look at me, her lower lip quivering as she couldn’t help relive it in her mind. Through our connection, I finally understood why she didn’t want to tell me about the prophecy.

For his part, Crypian did look apologetic. “Look, when I see something like that, I am bound to tell what I see. If I embellish or leave something out, it won’t come true.”

“I thought you said you make things up.” I said, wondering if he was misleading us.

“I do. I do.” He backpedaled. “The magic helps me though. I can’t just say ‘You will get a million gold’. It just won’t happen. But if I start to say you will get riches and my skill shows me a path where you can get some, I have to add that to my prophecy. When I told those villagers that they would be saved, the image of a naked goddess appeared in my head, and let me tell you. You are a goddess.”

Kalli cringed next to me. “You are a creep.”

“So that’s how you do it.” Alariel said from the other side of the Mecharriage.

She had been talking to Kiki but listening in to our conversation with the prophet. Crypian looked at her and said, “Why were you hunting me? You never said.”

Alariel replied, “Word got out about a mysterious old man wandering through the dark land and I was dispatched to bring you in. If you can survive the plague, we figured you we’re probably the one who started it.”

Crypian shook his head sadly. “I am not an old man. I arrived well after the plague began. I came to do what I could for the survivors. If you ask me, the rest of the magical world needs to step in and save these people.”

Alariel climbed to her feet and yelled at the prophet. “That’s not as easy as you think. There are politics involved. No nation has sovereignty here. Additionally, the citizens of this land moved here knowing full well that they would get no aid from any of the families. Certain securities come from paying your taxes after all.”

I watched as the two squared off before stepping in. “Good thing this is now an empire. We are going to cure this plague and bring this nation back from the brink. Oh, and Alariel, as emperor, I give you full permission to bring your people in to help out. Go ahead and send word.”

She hesitated. “It isn’t that easy, Emperor Murphy. I want to help. Trust me, I do. We simply cannot risk the health of…”

“Your people don’t care.” Crypian spat. “It’s the same everywhere. Peasants fend for themselves while the awakened live the good life. Personally, I am going to roam the world and use my prophecies where they can do the most good.”

“Can you make sure they include clothes in the future?” Kalli asked hopefully.

The Mecharriage erupted in a storm of laughter and Crypian was forced to agree. “Yes, future prophecies will include clothes.”