Chapter 11 – Any Means Necessary

*Ding*

Quest: Master of PuppetsQuest complete

Not only did you destroy the goblins inhabiting the abandoned mine, hindering them from creating more undead animal servants, but you also destroyed the cause of the dark magic.

You also released the souls of those imprisoned by darkness and gave peace to the souls of the dead villagers.

Rewards have been slightly increased because you completed a high level quest by yourself with an overwhelming level difference.

Rewards:

Affinity with nature increased

Earth Resistance raised by 1%

Water Resistance raised by 1%

Wind Resistance raised by 1%

Intimacy with Gelt and seven undiscovered villages raised.

For granting peace to hundreds of tormented souls you are rewarded with +200 Fame

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

For standing up to a much stronger foe, to a demon causing terror by his sheer existence and for defeating him after he experienced true fear you are rewarded with +2 Willpower

You are the first player to clear Abandoned Sorian Iron Mine.

The unique boss monster Azmodan will be replaced by Goblin Chief

+50 Fame

Title: The bigger they are…For defeating a unique, named quest boss more than 40 levels above you, you are granted with knowledge of how to deal with experienced and dangerous foes, bigger and stronger than you

+2 Strength

+3 Willpower

+25 Fame

Effects when equipped

+5% damage against named monsters

+5% damage against monsters bigger than you

The rewards were pretty awesome and finally he had a title that actually granted him benefits, so he immediately equipped it. But before he could deal with the players that caused all this, he still had something to do.

First he approached what was left of Azmodan to check for loot. There wasn’t even a corpse after he dissipated into mist. The shattered armor turned to ash but there was something different.

A handful of black crystals of different sizes lay on the ground, so Hall picked them up and used his Identification skill on them. He managed to level it up a little bit since he got it.

Usually you didn’t need to use it on common items to use them as they didn’t have any special properties. If you would use it on them nonetheless you could gain information on the time of its production or some of its history. It could raise its value, because as there were collectors in the real world, there were also people collecting all kinds of stuff in Novus Vita.

Some collected swords made in a specific period of the past, others looked for decorative items or art by some craftsmen, well, all kinds of things. Often they looked like common items but you needed a decent skill level in identification to gain all the information possible.

To use rarer items with special properties it was necessary to identify them first.

Although the items he got during his journey through the mines were pretty crappy, usually torn clothes, damaged armor or cheap weapons, he always used his Identification skill.

Yet it wasn’t high enough because he barely got any information on the crystals.

Soul ShardQuality:Unknown-

Hall just shrugged and pocketed the four shards that were around the size of a thumb. He was curious what they were but he really liked what was lying beside them.

It was the large two-handed sword Azmodan wielded and almost crushed Hall with.

When he grabbed the black handle the shadows spread, twisted and reformed.

Instead of a giant, crude blade what was left was a somewhat elegant longsword. One side had a sharp, black edge. It didn’t reflect any light and just seemed to swallow it all. The backside of the blade looked more liked black flames, shadows of candlelight, flickering in the wind.

The blade was slightly curved while the handle looked like it was made of dark wood. It was a simple sword without engravings or gems. While Azmodan held the sword it wasn’t only a lot bigger, it was frightening, brutal, like a weapon for slaughter.

Now it was more dignified, more graceful. An elegant weapon for a more civilized age.

“Identify.”

Blade of the Soul Weaver (incomplete)Damage:44-57Durability:87/90Quality:UniqueAn incomplete sword covered by shadows. Can only be wielded by those that have control over soul energy.

It is cursed after it has been corrupted by centuries of dark soul essence being stored inside it.

Effects:

Ignores 30% of the enemies armor

Ignores 30% of the enemies endurance

Slight chance to confuse or stun the enemy

Wounds caused by this sword won’t bleed

If cut by this sword the effect of all healing spells are reduced by 50%

+10% Darkness Resistance

+20 Strength

Area of Effect damage around the sword (5% of hit damage, Range: 10cm)

(Curse effect) Stamina consumption doubled

(Curse effect) Speed reduced by 80%

Requirements:

Willpower: 130

Strength: 100

Agility: 80

Hall was impressed to say the least, although the curse made the sword pretty much unusable, its effects were incredible.

The curse was peculiar as he could feel traces of soul energy covering the blade. It felt like Azmodan’s, but also something else, something older.

When he saw the charred remnants of the sword Ella gave him he had an idea.

So he sat down and started to concentrate on the black weapon in his hands.

He let his soul essence flow out of his hand, pushing back the foul energy. It was a battle of will, as the darkness clawed itself onto the sword, not giving a hairsbreadth without the exertion of incredible amounts of energy.

Hall couldn’t relax for a moment, when he did, the darkness reclaimed inches that took him minutes to gain. The more his own pulsating blue light covered the blade, the harder it was, the more he needed to push and the more the black energy twisted to not lose more ground.

In the end, with a single last effort, he overwhelmed the darkness and when there was nothing left, he finally relaxed. The sword still was black and gave of a similar feeling, but now dark blue lines were drawn trough the blade and disturbed the darkness, barely visible, but he guessed they’d serve a purpose and it looked pretty cool.

You have cleansed the sword Blade of the Soul Weaver (incomplete) from its curse

You have gained a new skill

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Soul CleansingBeginner10%Although your own soul may be tainted your honest intention and your will allows you to push away the darkness that corrupts the souls of others. Not only are you able to cleanse these unfortunate souls but you can cleanse objects soiled by the soul essence of evil beings.

Effects:

Able to cleanse tainted souls

Able to lift curses caused by soul energy

+2 Intelligence

+3 Wisdom

Hall was glad, the skill was pretty good, he cleansed souls before, but he probably also had to lift a curse to finally gain the skill.

That made him think. There also had to be a skill related to the imbuing of weapons with his soul energy, though there may still be something he didn’t figure out yet.

After the curse was lifted from the weapon he equipped it with a huge grin on his face. The weapon was incredible, the requirements were pretty high and usually you needed a rather high level to use it, thanks to his class though he could equip it anyway.

“Identify”

Blade of the Soul Weaver (incomplete)Damage:44-57Durability:87/90Quality:UniqueAn incomplete sword covered by shadows. Can only be wielded by those that have control over soul energy.

Remnants of soul essence mark this sword as property of Hall, the Harbinger of Death.

Effects:

Ignores 30% of the enemies armor

Ignores 30% of the enemies endurance

Slight chance to confuse or stun the enemy

Wounds caused by this sword won’t bleed

If cut by this sword the effect of all healing spells are reduced by 50%

+10% Darkness Resistance

+20 Strength

Area of Effect damage around the sword (5% of hit damage, Range: 10cm)

If imbued with soul energy, damage can be increased (max. +50%)

Requirements:

Willpower: 130

Strength: 100

Agility: 80

Considering the name of the weapon he had the feeling the term Soul Weaver also held some meaning and the fact that the weapon was incomplete made him wonder if it could be improved even further.

For now he was glad to have such a strong weapon by his side in addition to his trusted chains. Both the dagger and the sword he bought in Gelt were gone and his chest armor and pants reached zero durability points and were useless while his gloves and boots barely held together.

The remnants of the human corpses didn’t have any loot as the two players probably looted it all after killing them.

He left this sickening place full of splattered bodies, blood and limbs. After he left the eerie hallway behind his gaze fell on something he missed before and that looked like a crack in the wall. After closer inspection it seemed to be something like an entry to another room.

Illuminated by a flickering red light Hall saw a crude wooden table and a chair of the same material. When he lit the oil lamp on the table he could see the rest of the room.

Half the walls were covered with shelves filled with research material on Azmodan, several books about Sorian runes and language and texts on how to tie souls to their dead bodies.

Hall took them all and stored them in Lily’s inventory. He would read through them if he had time and either sell or destroy them depending on their content.

Shackled to the raw rock wall opposite to the shelves were several corpses. A note on the wall above them read.

Failed Subjects

.

Looking at several papers on the table he realized they were sacrificed like the puppets he fought, though they couldn’t control them and instead of just killing them they tried to figure out why.

These people we sacrificed can’t be controlled and their souls can’t be drained. No matter the pain, they don’t seem to break and the shackles we put on them seem to weaken.

It took months but after the chains that bound their soul to their corpses weaken sufficiently, they seem to leave the body, what’s left is useless meat. We have to take them out sometime or another.

Upon closer inspection the corpses seemed to be in a better condition than those he met so far. The magic didn’t seem to work properly and the dry air inside the cave preserved the bodies.

One of the bodies was a woman’s, her blond hair reminded him of Ella and because these bodies weren’t looted he found a golden necklace on her. The locket on it was a beautiful crafted golden heart. When he opened it, he found a picture of Ella in one half and one of a young, smiling couple in the other, probably Ella’s mother and father.

Hall’s heart was heavy, he knew deep inside Ella’s mother was dead, but because he really liked the girl and he was grateful for all she did, he would have loved to give her better news.

“Lily, I don’t think we should leave her down here like this.” Lily nodded in silence, the body was in good condition so she could still have a funeral.

It would be nice to do this with every single body, but considering the sheer mass that were in the mine it would be an endless task.

He destroyed the chains of Ella’s mother, put her on a blanket and after a moment of hesitation carried her with both arms. He then ran out of the mine, not having to fight at all it only took him two hours, and placed her in a safe spot a good distance away from the entrance.

Then he ran back, grabbed every single barrel of lamp oil he found in the mine and doused every human corpse from the beginning to the pile of crushed bodies at the end.

He coated the walls and hallways in the sticky substance after putting out the torches to not set the oil on fire. After several hours the task was done and he sat on a rock in front of the mine after starting a camp fire to his left. The trail of oil ended a meter to his right.

He put on a cloak he found in the cave. It wasn’t anything special, just thick dark linen with rough edges. It didn’t give any protection, but together with the ripped armor it made him look like a vagabond and would make people underestimate him.

So he waited and rested a little. The fire warmed him, he ate some of his rations he brought along and drank some water from the canteen. The smoke from the fire suppressed the obtrusive smell of the lamp oil and the warmth made him tired.

Again he talked with Lily to pass some time. It seemed like back when she was living with her family she had a real sweet tooth and liked to paint even though she was clumsy and always got dirty.

Because the small village didn’t have a school she also tried to teach the neighbor’s kids how to read and some basic math. Hall really loved to see her talk about her past with the shine of excitement and nostalgia in her eyes.

Shortly before his four day deadline ran out he put away his food and water and again checked his weapon and then covered it with his cloak. He knew the two players were dangerous, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to lead the goblins.

Still, mages and rogues usually didn’t have very high fighting spirit and together with Lily he surely would be able to take care of them.

He still needed to be careful, it was possible he misjudged them and even if he didn’t, just killing them wasn’t enough. Hall also wanted to know if they worked alone or belonged to a bigger organization. He somehow had to grin at the idea of destroying an evil group of players.

He calmly waited for several more minutes, poking at the fire with a stick trying to look like the laid back ranger characters from the stories he knew.

Finally the two players returned at pretty much the same time. It looked like they really timed it.

Instantly they were alarmed. There weren’t any guards in front of the mine and a suspicious stranger sat at a fire.

The rogue clad in dark brown leather took out two short swords within the blink of an eye and took up a fighting stance while eying the dubious stranger that looked like a hobo or a hunter, a bad one.

Hall noticed from the soul energy that both players had insanely high infamy rates and even though they didn’t have player killer marks, there was no way he would get punished for killing them. At least not with a gain in infamy.

He also noticed that the rogue was the same he saw in the inn in Gelt so Hall had to make sure he wasn’t recognized by him or else he might look for Ella afterwards. Or he just had to teach him what fear meant.

The mage took a few steps back, he was dressed in a dark robe and in his left hand he held a short black staff that looked like a crude wooden stick with a skull on top. The right hand held the dagger he used to sacrifice the girl with, but he instantly put it away in his inventory and took out a glowing red orb instead.

As soon as Hall saw the blade, he clenched his fist not to jump up and give away his intentions too fast.

The silence and tension became unbearable but Hall continued to ignore the two players and just calmly played with the fire until the rogue couldn’t take it anymore.

“Who are you? This is a dungeon claimed by the Shadow Wraiths, the largest guild in the Kingdom of Bredon – show guild banner” The rogue pulled out a banner from his inventory depicting two swords piercing a skull from above on red ground.

Banners were used as proof of membership so one couldn’t cause chaos and claim to be part of a well-known guild.

Well, now Hall had a name and he didn’t even need to ask. He actually read about their guild before. It was true, they were the biggest guild of players in Bredon and probably one of the biggest chaos guilds in the game.

The major reason was that Bredon was a small kingdom without a considerable force to deal with a bigger group of players. Additionally most nobles and guards were corrupt so if you had enough money you could get away with anything.

Still a guild with around five hundred members was a force to be reckoned with. Their level wasn’t too high with around 50 in average from what is known. But they were ruthless and could deal serious damage because they didn’t care about slaughtering NPCs and this way destroying access to quests and goods.

The bigger kingdoms had guilds with thousands of players, whole armies that could change the structure of a kingdom. In the future guilds would only grow, fusing, destroying and swallowing of guilds would become more common.

Right now their guild had an infamous reputation, not too well known outside of Bredon, but because of some assassinations and thefts some knew their name.

With the power of Azmodan, after he had regained his strength, and an army of undead they would pose a serious threat.

Still, Hall didn’t lose his composure and just smiled instead. “Well, that’s a shame, I didn’t know, sorry about that.”

The rogue slightly relaxed but his tone was a somewhat threatening although still a polite one. “Well, no harm done, unfortunately we can’t allow you to use it as a training ground, so please leave.”

Hall was surprised, he thought they would attack him or try to use threats. It looked like they were so desperate they didn’t want to antagonize him to not take the chance he might come back with a notion of revenge.

Now Hall raised his head and showed them a broad grin that didn’t spread to his eyes.

“Oh I don’t think you heard me right. I wasn’t apologizing for being here, I was apologizing because I already cleared your little dungeon.”

Both of them lost all color as their faces twitched and their lips trembled with their mouths wide open, speechless from what he just said. The mage was the first one to regain his composure.

“How deep did you venture into the mine? What did you see?” His voice trembled with anger and fear.

Hall just continued to grin as he took a stack of paper out of his inventory, showing it to the mage. It was some of the research he found that was made by the players and not part of the backstory.

Hall didn't think it was possible, but the man lost even more color when he saw his research in the stranger's hand, while the rogue tensed up again.

“Impossible, there is no way you could have completed this dungeon by yourself.”

Both of them tried to reassure themselves. If they lost the mine their guild wouldn't be too pleased with them and the Shadow Wraiths weren't too kind with those that failed them.

With an even broader grin filled with malice Hall slowly stood up and set the papers on fire. Before any of them could react Hall threw the burning research material onto the trail of lamp oil which instantly caught fire.

The same moment Hall activated his chains and threw them around the player's necks.

They both opened their eyes wide in disbelief and trembled as Hall activated his Soul Distortion, Mark of Death and Soul Pressure.

Within a second they were on their knees and shivered in fear as if death itself was upon them. Lily bound their hands to the ground, just to be sure, while Hall moved behind them and whispered.

“You miserable punks, we'll start this punishment by showing your work of the last year go up in flames. Enjoy the party, because I'm sure I will.”

While he heard Lily's voice, raising his willpower, he started to drain their mana and kept them in a constant state of confusion and fear while they had to watch as the fire crept inside the mine, slowly first but accelerating fast.

After it entered the mine there wasn't anything for a while, no sound, no light, until they could hear a deep growl. A devastating explosion shook the ground, scorching the earth, greedily devouring oxygen and burning down everything in its way.

The two players still shivered as their eyes reflected the red hot flames exiting the cave. Slowly they seemed to realize what happened, as they also should have gotten messages by now that their quests have failed.

They started to struggle against the chains binding them. Anger pushing away the fear. Their level was higher than Hall's, but with his particular skillset he had no problems keeping them down.

“Now, now, if you start to struggle I have to kill you quickly and that will spoil all our fun.” Hall whispered cruelly, as he slowly pulled the sword with his right hand.

He had no intention of showing mercy. They had to be stopped from even thinking about hurting the NPCs in these villages.

Lily didn't really disapprove but still reminded Hall. ”You know, we just have to scare them.”

Hall just continued to smile. ”Pain is scary.”

With these words he started to place shallow cuts on both of them, slowly chipping away at their health. Although it was painful and he wanted it to look like torture of some kind, his real goal was so destroy their armor and clothes.

They started to scream in pain as their skin was scorched by the dark blade Hall swung.

“No please, stop, we'll do anything.”

They started to plead and sob as Hall mercilessly cut their armor to shreds. Hall didn't say anything.

“Please, wait, we have money, here, just please…stop.”

They threw several gold pieces on the floor, trying to stop his blade.

By now Hall asked himself why they didn't log out. Was their armor really worth all this pain?

Their bodies wouldn’t disappear as they were still in combat but they wouldn’t have to deal with the pain anymore.

Shrugging his sword flew a couple of more times until both their clothes fell off their bodies in tatters, leaving only the underwear that wasn't removable.

The answer to his question was actual different. They simply didn’t think about it, confused and afraid as they were, but Hall wasn’t done with them.

“Now, oh so powerful members of the mighty Shadow Wraiths, why don’t you tell me a little something about what you were doing here and I really want to know a bit more about your guild” Hall asked with the face of a demon and they didn’t even think about holding anything back. They sang like a couple of drunk sailors, spilling the beans on everything they knew.

How their guild planned countless assassinations, how they bribed politicians, nobles and guards and how they were preying on the common people and villagers. They even told him about a secret guild layer in the capital’s slums. ‘I will so get my hands on anything in there.’ Hall rubbed his hands greedily in his mind.

After all the information he got, he thought about making a video and posting it online, just to mess with the Shadow Wraiths. They would probably hunt him from now on and now he had some leverage.

After answering his questions, their health should be close to zero.

To finish it, Hall tightened the chains around their necks, choking them. At the same time he put his hands on both their heads and poured his soul energy into them.

“If you hurt even one NPC of these villages again or if I even see you, today will be a pleasant memory compared to what I will do to you then, never forget that.”

They tried to scream but they couldn't, they wanted to cry but they wouldn't, they begged to die, but they didn’t.

Finally Halls glowing blue soul essence overpowered their beings and as light started to pour out from their eyes and mouths for half a minute (Hall held a lot of his power back) their bodies went limp.

You have attacked and killed two players, you have been marked as a player killer

Because of your skill Judgement the time you carry the mark has been reduced to 25%

'That means 6 hours, not so bad. Still, if they attacked me I wouldn't have been punished at all.'

Hall wasn't exactly sure if the time increased if one killed more people or players of a lower level, but he was pretty sure it would be the case.

For killing two players you have gained: +50 infamy

Because of your skill Judgement the infamy you gained was reduced to 0

‘That should frighten them sufficiently, I’m just curious if their guild will come after me, oh well, not like they know my name, time to check the loot.’

Killing two high level players gave pretty decent experience, not enough to level up, but still….

Beside their disappearing corpses were two items.

The first was the black dagger with red runes the mage dropped and that was used for the sacrifice. He didn’t like it, but still picked it up.

“Identify.”

Short Blade of the Soul Weaver (incomplete)Damage:32-44Durability:67/75Quality:UniqueAn incomplete dagger covered by shadows. Can only be wielded by those that have control over soul energy.

It is cursed after it has been corrupted by centuries of dark soul essence being stored inside it.

Effects:

Ignores 50% of the enemy’s armor if the dagger is used to stab

Ignores 50% of the enemy’s endurance if the dagger is used to stab

Slight chance to confuse or stun the enemy

Wounds caused by this dagger won’t bleed

If cut by this dagger the effect of all healing spells are reduced by 20%

If stabbed by this dagger the effect of all healing spells are reduced by 40%

+10% Darkness Resistance

+20 Agility

(Curse effect) Stamina consumption doubled

(Curse effect) Speed reduced by 50%

(Curse effect) Can be used for ceremonial purpose even without fulfilling the requirements

Requirements:

Willpower: 130

Strength: 80

Agility: 100

‘Awesome, a set item and it goes along with my sword.’

Even though it felt disgusting right now after being used to kill so many innocents, after the curse was gone it would be different. At least Hall hoped so, because it didn’t change its form like the sword did before, but that might be also an effect of the curse, they are different weapons after all.

The item the rogue dropped was a necklace that seemed to be made of the same material as the weapons, though it had a pendant with a crystal in the middle

The stone was completely dim and exuded a little bit of the black smoke Hall remembered well.

“Identify”

Pendant of the Soul Weaver (incomplete)Type:AccessoryQuality:UniqueAn incomplete pendant covered by shadows. Can only be worn by those that have control over soul energy.

It is cursed after it has been corrupted by centuries of dark soul essence being stored inside it.

Effects:

+10 to all stats

+5% to all resistances

(Curse effect) Stamina consumption doubled

(Curse effect) Speed reduced by 50%

(Curse effect) If worn without control over your soul, your body and mind will be overwhelmed by darkness

Requirements:

Willpower: 140

‘I really have to find out what a Soul Weaver is.’

Hall cleansed both objects with his new skill and after it was finally done the dagger had the same bonus as the sword when it came to imbuement of soul energy. The pendant had additional unknown effect as he wasn’t able to completely identify it after the curse was lifted.

Still, he equipped both items. The dagger really looked different than before. It was a lot shorter, barely longer than a kitchen knife. Instead of only one sharp edge, like the sword, both edges looked like black hard steel, while the flat looked like dark flames were burning on it.

All three items were imbedded with dark blue lines that could hold his soul energy without damaging the pieces themselves.

The crystal in the pendant changed from a dim black to a weakly pulsating blue you could almost see through. It was actually quite beautiful.

You have equipped three items of unknown origin that belong together, for your lack of knowledge you won’t be rewarded with any bonuses

‘Too bad, now I REALLY want to know what a Soul Weaver is.’

“Quite the show you put on, very enjoyable.” Hall jumped up, surprised by the voice and threw himself around to face it.

He relaxed instantly as he saw a pretty young woman dressed in a black suit sitting on his spot next to the fire.

“Hello Grim, didn’t think I would see you again so soon.” After he saw her raise an eyebrow he added. “Of course it’s a very pleasant surprise.” She smiled again and in his mind he brushed away some sweat.

“Well to be completely honest with you, I wasn’t planning on coming back so soon. I just came upon an interesting piece of information I thought you might want to know.”

She looked around, nodding quite pleased, then chuckled and shook her head.

“Really, I didn’t think you would be done here already and you accomplished even more than I asked you to.”

She then stood up and stepped closer to the corpses on the ground. “Foolish humans, meddling with things beyond their grasp.”

Approaching Hall she stood on tiptoes and quickly kissed him on the cheek. He could have sworn she blushed slightly while he just stood there dumbfounded barely able to hold in a grin. Meanwhile Lily stood behind him pouting, but not saying anything.

“You seem to have made great progress my confidant, therefore you have earned a new step to being a real Harbinger, but don’t forget, the way ahead is still long.”

*Ding*

You have unlocked a new character trait

+ Skills that use soul energy will be 10% more effective and will gain experience 50% faster

Hall was impressed and more than happy and when he showed Grim she nodded, approving with a little bit of pride in her harbinger.

“Now for the information I came to give you. There is an item I have been searching for, for quite a while now acutaly. It is a grimoire, a book of spells and knowledge on all kinds of topics. Well, to call it A grimoire might not be completely right, it’s more like THE grimoire, MY grimoire.

Until now none of my mortal helpers could make a contract with it, or even read it for that matter. You just might be different, at least that’s what I hope. Well, anyway, trying won’t hurt… probably.

As soon as you find it you just have to touch it and pour all your soul energy at once into it. The more, the better. If you are worthy, a contract can be established if both parties consent. Simple enough isn’t it?

Hall nodded, not completely convinced. “All right. Where do I find it and if it’s yours how come you had to search for it?”

For a second Grim seemed to scowl a little bit before sighing. “You know my mortal helpers rarely have a peaceful life nor are they granted a peaceful death. One of them was ambushed while performing the ceremony to establish the contract and the book was stolen.

You know I can’t interfere, so the book was lost over the centuries. Until now that is.”

Smiling again she walked, almost danced, around him while telling her story.

“Under the castle of Bredon’s capital is a dungeon several stories deep, it’s long forgotten by the people living above it. You’ll find the entrance in the oldest part of the catacombs under the grave of one of the kings of old. Gantardan XVII, he died over a millennia ago, so there will be bones left at best.

By now the dungeon is probably crawling with skeletons and all kinds of monsters, who knows where they all came from. So just go down there, clear it and take the book, simple, just as I said.”

Quest: Alice in ChainsDeath’s Grimoire is hidden deep inside a dungeon under the castle of Bredon’s capital Roselake, long lost, long forgotten. Form a contract with it after pouring your soul energy into it to show you are worthy.

Difficulty: C

Quest requirements:

Be Death’s Confidant

Be able to use Soul Energy

Rewards: a contract with Death’s Grimoire

Failure: fail to form a contract

Hall just rolled his eyes. Simple. Sure. Well, he was headed to the capital anyway.

“Alright, I’ll do it. One question though. Have you ever heard of a Soul Weaver or soul weaving?” He showed her his two blades and his necklace.

Grim stopped, surprised with his questions. Her eyes sparkled when she saw his weapons and the pendant. She chuckled. “As expected of my confidant, you are already gathering ancient artifacts.

But unfortunately I cannot say as it is not permitted. Though you might find what you seek in my grimoire, it’s somewhat of a backdoor to some rules, you know, bending them instead of breaking them.” Grim grinned broadly as she stated that fact so leisurely.

Hall was a little dejected but didn’t complain and instead pulled out the dark crystals, the soul shards, he got from Azmodan. Grims just continued to smile, giving him the same answer. Although she dropped the hint that they might be connected to his other question.

‘So they are connected to soul weaving.’ Hall couldn’t do anything against Grim’s good mood and instead shook his head, smiling too.

She seemed a lot more approachable than before, somehow more familiar.

Although she was one of the most powerful beings in this world, he felt comfortable around her.

“Lily, I’m also glad you are doing well. I wasn’t sure you would be able to…adjust”

When Grim approached Lily, they both smiled, somehow understanding each other without needing many words. ‘Woman’s intuition I guess.’ Hall thought to himself.

Grim disappeared after saying her goodbyes, promising they would meet each other soon.

After a few moments Hall started to gather the gold coins the two players threw at him in desperation and in the false hope it might keep him from hurting them. ‘Twenty-three gold coins, not bad.’

Afterwards he sighed while looking at the remnants of the mine and walked to the entrance.

“I’m sorry, I would have liked to give you a better grave, but that’s all I can do for you, so rest in peace.” Hall tipped his head, walked to gather the body of Ella’s mother and returned to Gelt to complete the quest and prepare everything before leaving for the capital Roselake.

Back to Main Page

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Detailed view of Hall’s and Lily’s status windows and skills:

Here

Quick overview:

Spoiler :

Hall:

Status WindowName:HallAlignment:DeathLevel:33Class: Harbinger of DeathRace:HumanGender:MaleTitle:The bigger they are…Fame:912Infamy:0-Health:3005 / 2055Health Regen:4.4/ SecMana:0 / 2105Mana Regen:4.7 / SecStamina:815 / 815Stamina Regen:6.2 / Sec-Strength:108+30Agility:96+30Vitality:78+10Endurance:78+10Intelligence:92+10Wisdom:98+10Willpower:142+10Luck:40+10-Attack:30+45Defense:24+18Magical ResistanceFire:10%+5%Water:11%+5%Wind:11%+5%Earth:11%+5%Lightning:10%+5%Illusion:40%+5%Light:10%+5%Darkness:40%+25%+ 30 added to all stats

+ Willpower stat raised by 80 points

+ Magical Resistances raised by 10%

+ Resistance to Illusion and Darkness Magic raised by an additional 30%

+ Enables you to equip certain items or equipment specialized for this class

+ Increases attack power for attacks with soul energy

+ Unable to learn most crafting professions

+ Skills that use soul energy will be 10% more effective and will gain experience 50% faster

+ Unknown

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Marked for DeathBeginner333%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Death to Everyone (Subskill of Marked for Death)Beginner38%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:In my Time of Dying (passive)--100%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Ain’t no Grave can hold my body down (Subskill of In my Time of Dying,passive)--100%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Keep me in your Heart for a While (Subskill of In my Time of Dying,passive)--100%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Soul PerceptionBeginner422%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Soul Pressure (Subskill of Soul Perception)Beginner294%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Mana Drain (Subskill of Soul Chains)Beginner342%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Soul Distortion (Subskill of Soul Chains and Soul Perception)Beginner285%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Hells Bells (Subskill of Soul Chains)Beginner210%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Judgement (passive)--100%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:AmbidexterityBeginner334%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:IdentificationBeginner336%

Weapon Mastery skills:

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Chain Mastery (Subskill of Soulchains)Beginner514%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Sword MasteryBeginner339%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Dagger MasteryBeginner34%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Soul CleansingBeginner137%

Status WindowName:LilithAlignment:DeathLevel:36Class: Familiar of the Harbinger of DeathRace:Human (Spirit)Gender:FemaleTitle:Lady in Black-Health:0 / 950Health Regen:3.5/ SecMana:9420 / 7315Mana Regen:38.8 / SecStamina:-Stamina Regen:--Strenght:32Agility:40Vitality:55Luck:35Intelligence:334Wisdom:359-Attack:4Defense:-Magical ResistanceFire:10%Water:10%Wind:10%Earth:10%Lightning:10%Illusion:40%Light:10%Darkness:40%+ 15 added to all stats

+ Intelligence and Wisdom stat raised by 20 points

+ Magical Resistances raised by 10%

+ Resistance to Illusion and Darkness Magic raised by an additional 30%

+ Unaffected by physical attacks if not in corporeal form

+ Increases magical damage if the target is affected by the magic of the Harbinger of Death

+ Soul bound to Hall, the Harbinger of Death

+ Unknown

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Soul Meets BodyBeginner385%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Angels don’t killBeginner426%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Spiritual HealingBeginner312%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Voice of the SoulBeginner63%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:I will follow you into the Dark (Subskill of Voice of the Soul)Beginner414%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Prayer for the Dying (Subskill of Voice of the Soul)Beginner112%

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Tears of HeavenBeginner289%

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Author’s Note:

Hope you liked chapter 11 :grin:

I think this is a decent point to end Volume 1, I might add a real life chapter or a chapter with viewpoints of different people if anyone is curious, something like a chapter 11.5

If there is interest I could make something like a Volume 1 PDF to read offline, though people reading this note will already have read this FF, so that’s not really necessary, well what do you think?

I also really want to thank you all for your suggestions concerning Halls skills and weapons, I liked them a lot but of course can’t use them all, hope you understand, some might find their way into this fiction though^^

Furthermore I’m really grateful for pointing out some mistakes/flaws in the skills I came up with, so I changed them slightly (e.g. Tears of Heaven and Mana Drain)

As always, please continue to tell me your opinions, suggestions and point out any mistakes you find, I really appreciate your support and am grateful for every comment :bye: