Mo was sitting on the steps of the mausoleum looking depressed when I tracked him down. The sun was setting over the well pruned trees of the graveyard and it cast crimson hues over the grey headstones. I walked over to him and he sighed heavily.

“Aren't you a little young to be acting that depressed.” I asked him as I approached.

“Easy for you to say. You didn’t end up with an arrow in your neck.”He said sullenly.

“Well look on the bright side. You could have got hit in the knee. Then you’d have to stop adventuring.” Mo scowled at me and I smiled.

“I got your gold back. Forty of your plus another twenty-four from the fight. “ I added as I handed over his money. He pocketed the coins while I asked him in a more serious voice. “So where are you headed now?”

He looked thoughtful for a moment fingering the handle of his mage’s orb. “Hadn’t really thought about it too much. Are you going to try completing that quest we got?” He asked as he stood up.

“That’s the plan. I hate being in debt to anyone.”

Mo looked at me uncomprehending for a moment before he shook his head. “I think I’m headed out. It’s been fun and all but traveling with you is a bit too exciting for me. “ It wasn’t really surprising news. We’d been traveling together for weeks now and even friends can get a bit grating after too long together.

“Alright man, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” I said as I stuck out a hand and we shook. “And be sure to shoot me a pm if you wanna group up again..” With that I turned and headed out of the cemetery. I was on my own again for the first time in weeks. It felt strange but oddly satisfying. I’d always been a bit of a solo player. I’d been in guilds and done raids and all that but there was something…. profound about exploring a world on your own. It wasn’t something you could really gain in the real world. All the frontiers on earth had been conquered, and until humanity figured out space travel there would be no new explorers.

I walked through the darkening streets with my hammer slung over my shoulder. The faint clink of my armor and my billowing red cape attracted plenty of stares and I grinned faintly as I sold the dungeon loot and ran errands. I kept most of the good stuff but I still turned a tidy profit. My coin purse was again bulging.

I had to find a way to topple the Knight’s but I only had a single lead to work with and It wasn’t a very good one. Aside from that cultist hideout down in the sewers I had nothing. I supposed I could always go around just beating up their guild members, but that would be a tall order without a dozen or so people of my own.

Besides, the brute force approach was ultimately a losing one in this case. If the object was to defeat a particular boss or kill a particular player that’s one thing but the game's mechanics made solving this particular problem a tricky one. Violence is a much less useful tool in an environment where death is merely an inconvenience. That only left me with making the price too high to do whatever it was they were doing. Which again, was difficult since they had more people and more money.

I could try guerrilla tactics but that would lead to a long, bitter, and ultimately pointless war. So I needed to attack the problem from the NPC side of the world. The city guards of Hernberg would be able to ban the guild or even revoke the cities sanctuary to them. That would let me accomplish my mission without all the trouble and hopefully in a much shorter time frame.

That could wait for tomorrow though. Tonight I had other things to do. I bought myself a room at the Horse and Four then sat on the big bed and opened up my menu. It took me a few minutes to find what I was looking for but soon I found the sub-menu for the video add-in card and started to run through the footage I’d taken. I’d shot nearly twenty hours of video, starting before the first fight in the sewers until after I’d re-entered the city after the past brawl.

Most of the footage I’d recorded had to be cut. Hours of wandering around aimlessly wasn’t very interesting for a video. After all, the world’s attention span had fallen to a degree where a twelve minute internet video was considered on the long side. So I cut out all but the most interesting fights, the zombie horde, the boss, and a few shots of Jasmine or Meredith looking particularly sexy. It was shallow, but hot girls make for good ratings and Jasmine and Meredith were both excellent specimens. That left me with twenty mins of actions packed goodness.

The cuts didn’t take long and the editing software was surprisingly robust and intuitive. It should be for as much as I paid for the damn thing, but it didn’t take me more than an hour to make the necessary changes, add in a few transitions, and whip up a title before I uploaded the video and logged out. I really needed some down time before I came back to tackle the guild and the cultists.

*****************************************************************

I once more found myself creeping through the sewers below Hernberg. It was honestly kinda sad. I was beginning to think of these dank reeking tunnels as my home. It took me a while to find the door I was looking for. I’d only been here once and that was quite a while ago.

Two points of light in the darkness guided me to my destination. It seemed there were guards waiting outside with torches. There hadn’t been before I and paused unsure how to continue. I considered trying a subtle approach but between the guildies, the dungeon, and Jasmine drama, I really just wanted to beat someone up.

I started forward again walking steadily. Uncaring that they would notice me. Apparently, they weren’t very observant because I was nearly in the ring of light from their torches before they even noticed me. That was one of the problems with torches. They helped you see the immediate area around you but blinded you to everything beyond that.

Strength of Stone…..

I thought as I approached. I smiled cheerfully and waved at the guards as I came into view.

“Stop! Who….?” He started but I halted his question by punching him in the face. His body locked up for a moment before he collapsed in a heap.

“What the hell?” The other guard said as he drew his sword and attacked. I didn’t even bother to block. I simply stepped forward, taking the shallow wound his sword made and grabbing him by his shirt. Then I spun and hurled the man with all my strength. The throw sent him crashing through the rickety wooden door and I stepped over his body and the broken debris as I walked into the room beyond.

It was small and cramped with a card table and a few cultists sitting around it. Two doors lead deeper into the hide-out but both were shut and I had my hands full out here. The men started to their feet in surprise but I was already among them. I placed one stone covered foot on the back of the chair in front of me and shoved. The push sent the chair, the table and two of the fighters crashing into the far wall. They hit the wall in a tangle of limbs and fallen furniture leaving the two other cultists in the room staring at me dumbfounded.

They both started yelling but I ignored them chuckling as I grabbed one and send him flying across the room. Adding him to the pile of wreckage on the far wall. Having sixty strength really was too much fun. The last fighter just looked at me terrified and ran for the door but I reached out and caught him by his shirt collar before he could leave. Then I spun him around and leveled him with a right cross.

The three men piled up around the table struggled back to their feet and drew their weapons. I made a pulling gesture with my left hand and used my magic to suck the flames off the torches lighting the room. The balls of fire flew towards me until I had three globes of flame spinning over my palm.

“Now before any of you do anything stupid I think we should discuss the terms of your surrender.” I said reasonably. The three of them looked stunned for a moment then one spoke up.

“Who the hell are you? Why did you break in here?” Asked a dark-haired man.

“I’m Noob Slayer. Beater of ass and slayer of noobs.” I replied.”So are you surrendering or not?”

“I don’t even know who you are. Why did you just break in here and start beating people up?” The dark-haired man asked incredulously.

“I just told you. I’m Noob Slayer. This IS an evil cult right? I’m pretty sure smashing my way in and beating you up is kinda my job.” I asked with a frown. Maybe this was the wrong door. That would be hilarious.

The three men looked at each other for a moment. Then one charged at me. I sighed sadly and flicked my wrist sending one of the balls of flames on my palm flying into him. The results were particularly gruesome and I winced as his battle yell changed into a scream. He fell to the floor rolling in an attempt to put out the flames. I stopped to flames with another flick of my wrist before stomping his head and turning back to the others.They both looked at me stunned for a moment before they raised their hands simultaneously.

“We Surrender!”

“Excellent! Now I’m looking for a creepy old guy and even creepier cricket girl.” I said as the shadows in the room twisted with the flames in my palm. The two men looked at each other for moment then one spoke up.

“They aren't here. No one is here. They all left early this morning. Something about a ritual.” I winced at his words. Why is it evil cultists are always doing some crazy ritual?

“You know, you guys aren't very dedicated for zealots.” I said before asking. “Where is the ritual supposed to take place? “

“South west of the city. There are some ruins on the otherside of the river.” One explained quickly. It was obvious they just wanted me to leave.

Blurp

The Corrupted KnightsThe Guild Knights of the Round Table have made themselves a menace in Hernberg. Investigate their dealings, expose their secrets, and save Hernberg from their oppression.

Update: The Knights of the Round Table have struck a deal with the Cultists of Ukkufu, Lord of Chaos. They are selling the blood of New Souls to the cultists to fuel their blood magic. Bring proof of their transgressions to the Hernberg Magistrate and have them thrown from the city.

Update: The cultists have planned a blood ritual for tonight when all three moons are full. You must stop them

Level: ???

Difficulty: ???

Rewards: 300 fame, 20 Gold, ???

“Draw me a map and I’ll go. You’ve been exceptionally helpful.” I said as they frantically looked for something to draw on. Fifteen minutes later I was out of the sewers and leaving the city. It was still morning back in the real world, but in game it was already mid-afternoon.

It took me nearly two hours to find the place and the sun was already setting. The ruins were in a forest clearing about ten miles from the city. Old trees and twisting vines obscured the ancient stone. The ruin itself was a series of black obelisks in an odd geometric pattern. I approached through the dense underbrush creeping my way closer until I found a small hill where I could overlook the area.

About a dozen people stood inside the obelisks. They had cut back the plants and vines growing over the stone floor revealing an impressive series of patterns and glyphs, they were oddly twisted and staring at them hurt my head.

In the center of the floor was an octagon that was raised slightly from the rest of the floor. There the cultist had painted magical sigils in a style I didn’t recognize. They looked nothing like the sigils I used for witchcraft or the wizard runes mo used. Probably some infernal script for demon summoning or blood magic. The paint they had used looked black in the torchlight and was most likely blood. Cultists were always using blood for their crazy rituals.

I wasn’t close enough to make out too many specific details about the people I could see, but there was one slim silhouette on the side farthest from me I had pegged as cricket girl. Something about they way it was standing, the figure was just too still to be human.

She would be the trickiest of the bunch. She’d mentioned that she had a master but he was mostly likely some sort of evil priest who’d be trouble but between her physical speed and her mind control magic she definitely needed to die first. I’d just have to improvise after that.

I crept around the clearing making sure to stay far enough out no-one would notice me. I wasn’t sure how good cricket girls senses were but I’d bet money they were better than mine. Human’s got the shaft in pretty much everything. We had worse senses, worse stats, and the shortest lives. Our only real saving grace was our sheer indecisiveness. We weren’t specialized at anything which made us better at improvising, better at learning new things, and better when it came to the occasional crazy melee sorcerer build.

It took me a good five minutes to work my way all the way around to the other side. I was just getting ready to make my move when a cloud finally moved and moonlight shone down onto the ruins. The obelisks started to glow a sickly purple color and the cultist began to chant in a strange guttural language. The glow of the obelisks began to intensify and I decided I couldn’t wait any longer. I charged out of the woods and directly towards cricket girl’s back as I pulled my hammer from my bag.

She heard me coming almost immediately, but I was already calling fire to swat her down. She was too fast for me in our last fight but I had leveled three times since then and more importantly I’d gained much better control over my magic. The flame flew forward in a cone washing over her small form as she frantically tried to dodge. She let out a banshee’s scream as she caught fire as she rolled into the center of the ruin. .

“Kill the interloper!” someone shouted as I rushed into the middle of their ritual as I chased after the downed girl. I didn’t quite reach her before the others swamped me. Their plan to overwhelm me with numbers was a poor one. Like the old man in the tunnels they were ill prepared for a melee contest against an armed and armored opponent and I’d already killed two of them with my hammer before the first spell was even cast. It came from a tall robed figured who’d stayed back from the initial rush. He’d conjured some sort of red mist and flung it into the fray. It passed within inches of me hitting one of the cultist behind me and my eyes went wide as blood started to fountain from his eyes, ears, and mouth as he collapsed in a dieing heap. That was a new and interesting effect and one I wasn’t eager to deal with.

A small hooked knife came in from behind me, stabbing through the leather of my armor and into my back. I flinched from the pain, allowing those around me close in. Steel flashing in the moonlight, the cultists attacked with their knives and clubs. Blows rained down smashing into my back and shoulders while I absorbed their attacks.

“Whirlwind Kick!” I shouted activating my ability. I leapt into the air and spun knocking everyone backwards as I chased after the cricket girls retreating form. I needed to find cricket girl. I hadn't killed her and I really didn’t need her aggravating things while I was trying to fend off everyone else.

I spotted the caster as he started another spell and I summoned an earth wall to block as I continued to brawl. It didn’t take me long to finish of the ones who’d charged at me but the others had taken up positions circling me. They stood about twenty feet from me as they threw dark magic from multiple directions.

I rushed toward one of the casters and dove to avoid one of the blobs of red magic but I couldn’t avoid them all. A blob of magic hit me on my left side and I could feel the magic rushing through my body. For a moment it felt like i had magma in my veins, then my vision went red as I started to bleed out of my mouth, eyes, and ears. I fought through the pain running in a zig-zag motion until I could close with the caster. I smashed him down in a single strike and summoned another wall.

My position was better here and I added a slight curve to the wall. Letting me defend against the other three casters as I caught my breath. Mage battles had to be the worst match-ups for me.My magic was shakey at anything beyond a dozen feet and I had to take my licks if I wanted to close with ranged opponets. My breath sawed in my lungs. Those spells were nothing to sneeze at. I might have a ton of HP but I wouldn’t be able to survive many more of them.

I took another deep breath then dashed around the edge of my cover, charging at my next victim. I dove forward then rolled back to my feet as ran spirited across the intervening space. Bolts of magic flew past me as I ran but I made it unscathed. It took another blow of my hammer to put him down. Which left me with two enemies and the cricket girl, wherever she’d ended up.

Sweat trickled down my face and I started after the next cultist immediately. I didn’t have the magic to keep summoning earth-walls through the floor of the ruin. The extra mana I hard to burn to get through the worked stone was rapidly wearing me out. The next cultists had caught on though and I soon as I started towards him he ran backwards making me chase. The final cultist, the leader I presumed, started to chant again and the light of the obelisks started to pulse rhythmically. I turned and headed for the leader, but then the cultist I’d been running after turned back and launched another bolt of magic at me. I was forced to dive out of the way and I gritted my teeth in frustration.

The pulsing light started to become more rapid and the air above the ruin started to ripple as the space distorted. I charged toward the leader again then expecting the next bolt of magic turn and threw my hammer at the casting cultist behind me. He’d stopped to cast his spell and his face showed a moment of shock before my hammer hit him knocking him off his feet. I didn’t waste time to see if he’d get back up but instead rushed toward the leader as he continued to chant whatever spell he was trying to perform.

I hadn’t gotten three steps when harp music washed over me along with a torrent of mental magic. I fell to my knees, swearing savagely as I slammed my meager mental defenses into place. I was able to keep my mind intact but I couldn’t move.

Goddamn it……..

I knew this would happen. I knew, as soon as I missed my first chance at her that it would end up like this. I heard the faint sound of footfalls over the lead cultists chanting, before a pair of eerily skinny came into my vision. She paused as she walked around in front of me then paused.

“ Ahhhhh, my magnificent brute.” She said in her sickly sweet voice. “ I prefered you in chains but having you at me feet is an excellent consolation.” She continued to play her as she walked, the music haunting among the old stone and overgrown forest. The purple light continued to pulse making her maggot white skin look blue. Giving her the appearance of a drowned corpse.

I knelt there fuming as she taunted me.

“So how did you get free? Did someone find you and set you free or did you just rip yourself free with these big muscles.” she said and she bent down and squeezed my bicep. Her hands were cold on my flesh and I wanted to pull away but couldn’t.

The pulsing lights of the obelisks brightened further and there was a sudden tearing sound, like someone ripping a bedsheet. I looked up as much as I could and saw that the distortion overing above the runes had torn open. Reality itself had been rent asunder and great black tentacles started pushing themselves out of the tear in space.

I looked on disgusted and confused. I was excepted some great fiery demon. Instead I was getting tentacles.

“Master calls the old one. Soon the faceless god shall walk the world again!” Cricket girl shouted. Her voice gaining a hint of almost sexual excitement that made me shudder.

Oh great……..

Not Christian demons, or Gygaxian demons, Otherworld had gone with Lovecraft. So instead of fire and brimstone, I had to deal with weirdness and tentacles. I really needed to stop this before they managed to summon whatever god awful thing it was they were trying to summon. I didn’t particularly like Hernberg as a place but letting one of the Old One’s rampage about was probably not good.

I watched cricket girl like a hawk, waiting. She looked nonchalant, but she hadn’t been able to completely put me under like last-time. The sort of mental domination she was attempting had to be taking bucketfuls of mana to keep up, all I really needed to do was wait her out. Unfortunately, the clock was ticking.

I softened my expression and watched her as he paced back in forth in front of me gloating as the rip in reality grew larger. She was trying to hide it but I could see the sweat soaking through the burnt wraps she was wearing as clothes. I waited another ten or twenty seconds while the ritual continued then, just as she walked right in front of me again, I threw all the remaining will I had left against her mental shackles.

Her spell burst apart and I launched myself to my feet directly at her. She staggered as the spell broke and I managed to wrap one of my stone gauntleted fist around her pretty neck before she could skitter away. I sneer as I looked into her black multi-faceted eyes.

“I’m really going to enjoy this.” I said as I got ahold with my other hand then spun and flung her upwards. She screamed as she sailed higher before one of the great black tentacles wrapped around her and drug her through the rent and out of our reality.

The leader's eyes widened as I started towards him. I walked swiftly but casually giving him time to be properly afraid. I got within about ten feet before he stopped chanting.

“You can kill me, but Ukuffu will rise! Other shall come and the world shall tremble!” He screamed as he pulled a long wavy knife from his belt. My eyes widened when I realized what he planned to do. I needed him alive.

I dashed forward and caught his hand just as before he managed to cut his throat. He yelled in rage but I got my arm around his throat and choked him out. Then I half collapsed to the stone panting as I sucked in big gulps of air.

Finally……..

I was just starting to relax when I the sounds of the forest at night stopped suddenly. I groaned aloud.

“Oh come now. You always act so put-upon. Any other man would be grateful to have such a beauty in his presence.” A honeyed voice said as Baria walked out of the darkness.

“Yes well, most men are idiots when it comes to beautiful woman. Ask Paris. He got his entire kingdom destroyed.” I said bitterly.

“Ahhh… A reader of the classics. Very scholarly of you, but I believe the Trojan War was actually over a trade disagreement. You humans are always murdering each other over money.”

“And religion don’t forget that one. Nothing better to start a war than an argument over whose god is most forgiving and benevolent.” I added sarcastically.

“You really are in a poor mood. Just because that orc wouldn’t sleep with you, you’ve become saturnine.” She said as she scrutinized me with her golden gaze.

“I’m actually in a much better mood. I’ve finally finished your quest. The cultists have been stopped and they didn’t manage to summon some crazy tentacle monster. Now I can re-supply and get back to making money. “ I explained, defending myself.

She sighed. “Yet you still treat me like a leper. I’ve been nothing but kind to you and the only thing I ask you to do is something that you would have done anyway had you discovered the quest on your own. I do not understand,”

I frowned. Now she was making me feel bad. “You're too beautiful, too powerful, and too mysterious. Everytime I see you I just want to curl up at your feet, it’s a very poor position to use as the foundation for any relationship, even a mutually beneficial one. It’s like having a ridiculously hot girl flirt with you, one who’s WAY out of your league, because she’s either crazy which means you want nothing to do with her. Or she’s using you for something, which means you want nothing to do with her. She doesn’t have to do anything wrong. Her motives could be purely altruistic, but in the back of your mind you're always going to wonder what her real game is. “

“That’s a particularly dark way of looking at it. What about Jasmine? She’s attractive and you start drooling the moment she gets near you.” Baria asked.

“Do I detect a hint of jealousy?” I asked grinning. Baria just raised one golden eyebrow not deigning to answer.

“She’s attractive but to too attractive. She’s like a eight or nine. You're like a thirty on a scale to ten and she’s also angry, violent, and a bitch. Which brings her down into my range.” I said still smiling.

“I shall never understand the working of the male mind.” Baria said as she shook her head ruefully.

“So what did you need? I’m guessing you didn’t just come to discuss my relationship problems.” I asked finally.

“You completed your task. So I’ve come to grant you a boon. I needed to know if you were as capable as I thought you were and you’ve past the test.” She said showing her perfect teeth in a wide smile.

She placed her hand onto my forehead and the world jolted as golden power flooded into me.

Blip

You’ve been granted divine favor!In exchange for completing a divine quest, you’ve been granted a boon by one of the High Gods.

I read then pop-up and frowned. “What’s it do? It doesn’t list any of the benefits.” I said noncomprehending.

“That’s because none of the benefits are things the game is supposed to give it. It will allow you to go places and do things other players will not be able to. However that’s not why I gave it to you. It removes your avatar from the games database, that’s it’s most important function.”

I looked at her blankly and she sighed. “Think. You're sharp enough. Your gaming experience has not been standard. Nexus modified your memories. That alone would make you a target if it ever came up. Even more serious, you can do magic…. In your world. What do you think would happen if THAT came out? How would Nexus react?” She asked looking me in the eyes.

“I need you. I can’t have the company interfering.”

“So you’ve taken me off their radar. I’m playing the game in stealth mode now. They can’t track me, can’t see me, and have no idea I’m even playing.” I said finally getting it.

“Precisely. Now go finish your quest.” She said as she vanished and the sounds of the forest returned.

An: Sorry for the long delay on this one!

Edit: Royalroad keeps putting a crazy amount of spaces between everything. When I paste stuff in every paragraph has 5 or 6 lines between it.

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