This was the fiftieth day that McKenna had gone back into that room and questioned Not-Colin about something else related to either the game or Real-Colin’s imprisonment. As usual, she entered the room, gave him food and water for the day, then started to question him. The willpower it took to not strangle the Not-Colin for just wearing his face was infuriating, but she endured by minimizing her proximity.

“So,” he said, taking a bite of today’s lunch sandwich. “What are you going to ask me today. I hope it’s not another question about Redwood City. I told you I haven’t been there for a long time, and I didn’t spend much time there when I was.”

McKenna paced the room in front of his bed while he ate away at the plain ham and swiss on wheat sandwich with lettuce. “Oh, you know I am going to ask; I am just trying to figure out what to ask. Do you remember where I said I was when we last spoke?”

“You were delving into the Dungeon, I think it was called… The Theatre of the Tainted Orchestra, and you were in one of the safe rooms. You were hoping to get an item at the end of the Dungeon if I remember what you told me correctly. Not that I know what you are going to get, I’ve never even heard of that Dungeon,” Not-Colin shrugged. “What did you tell me the lore said you’d get? The key to your heart’s true desire?”

She shook her head, continuing her pacing, “No. It said that they who conquer the Theatre of the Tainted Orchestra would attain the key to their hearts greatest yearning.” McKenna stated from memory. “Most people get class items that improve an Attribute, skill or granting a boon for their personal growth. Some players had gotten key items for quests when the item was lost, broken, or stolen.”

Finishing the sandwich, he flashed McKenna a smile that did not match on Colin’s face. “So, what? Are you hoping to get a clue to find Colin’s Character in-game or a cool new item to gain a leg up?”

“Almost anything works,” she told him, lying through her teeth. “In the end, I just want the experience so that I can hopefully get to level 12.”

“I wish you luck,” he told her, seemingly sincerely. “So what are you going to ask?”

She paused in front of Not-Colin, tapping her chin in thought, “What do you know about the Elven Royal Family?” she asked, curious about a broadcast that she saw not too long ago.

“Oh, the Idris-Sasil Family Dynasty, right? The most interesting thing they’ve done in a thousand years is that they initiated the conflict with the Gnome King’s alliance. Why do you ask?”

“A few weeks ago,” she explained. “I got a message on my Information Tablet that was a recording of Princess Astra’s proclamation of the Peace Treaty.”

Not-Colin’s eyebrows raised in surprise, “really? Interesting. None of the Royal family is known for… caring much for anything beyond the family and keeping their country. If they are allowing the war to stop, then they must have ulterior motives, either that or something else weird is going on.” Not-Colin shrugged, “I dunno, Royalty are weird.”

McKenna nodded in agreement, “do you actually know anything useful?” she asked, a little bit of frustration peeking into her tone, “Most of what you tell me is either useless, trivial, or out of my league.”

Shrugging, Not-Colin took a drink. “Not my fault you started in Rosewood City. Now, If you had appeared in the Sandalwood Basin, oh, I could give plenty of useful tips and tricks. Hell, I hid a magic item in my old apartment there. I could tell you things about a dozen other locations on that continent, but where you ended up… no, can’t help you as much.”

Taking in a deep, cleansing breath through her nose, McKenna kept herself from decking the body of the man she loved. This was the excuse he used every time she asked him a question outside the system the world operated with. She wondered about potions and the making of them, and he shrugged, ‘no idea,’ he said.

Grumbling, she gave him the remote for the TV, done with this for today. The man was always willing to talk and was still truthful when he gave useful information, but that didn’t negate the fact that his face gnawed at her psyche.

Since he was cuffed to a ten-foot chain that was bolted into the floor. Not-Colin certainly had no obvious want to call the police or for any sort of help since he stayed quietly in the room whenever she wasn’t there. She knew this because she left an audio recorder set just outside the locked room every day, and except for the TV and laughter at it, he was silent as the grave.

With her daily interview with Not-Colin completed, she used the restroom, got some food, water, then dove into the game. Today was Saturday, so she didn’t have to go into her law firm today, and she meant to use the most of her time to complete the Dungeon she was in.

The system went through all the usual prompts as she reentered her game body and looked around the room.

She was in one of the main managerial offices lit by a smokeless green flame every five feet or so feet of wall. Bookshelves stood each dead even with each other, all around the office, each of the dark wooden planks was bowed from the hundreds and hundreds of paper sheets they held. And in the center of the office was a large oak desk covered in feet of playbills and forms that McKenna only took a quick look at when she entered her last night.

McKenna was sitting in one of the three chairs in the room, she occupied the one behind the mess, and two sat in front of it with a heavy coat of dust. As she looked around, a shiver ran down her spine as part of the building creaked for no apparent reason. The silence here was nerve-wracking, and she was ready to be done with it.

Luckily, this room was where she’d found the Enchanted Master Key that would unlock the main theatre and the stage. It was a weird set-up, but no matter how hard she looked, there was no path or passage, hidden or known, that led backstage without going through the theatre. She supposed that maybe the usual way back there was to go around to the back of the building. Then again, the building was covered by an overgrown giant tree root; there was no way to confirm this.

Scooting her seat back and standing up, she took a moment to make sure she still had everything in its place. She started with her formerly white priest clothes that had been altered and augmented. The entire priestly vestment was made up of soft gray tones, black accents, and turquoise patterns. The cuffs and hood were now lined with dark wolf fur that had been magically added to her original outfit. Luckily, this new look worked with her choice of the Berserker subclass.

On her back rested the now enchanted Steel War Gaff resting on a special mount that felt almost magnetic the way it snapped on and off her beck. The weapon, a four-foot full steel polearm with a sharp hook on one end and a spike on the opposite end, now had a pair of runes glowing dimly on the middle of the shaft. Along the belt, a quartet of daggers sat ready for use. Her hands had a single ring on each that improved her magic use and a gold chain bracelet that prevented the paralysis Ailment.

She checked her bag really quick and confirmed that everything else was there, guaranteeing that nothing had been touched since she logged off. There were stories of belongings being stolen if you had to leave the game in a non-safe locale, so she took the time to confirm that she still was good to go.

Confirmed, McKenna walked around the desk, her every step echoing loudly off the floor and creaking with every step. She stepped out of the office and entered a familiar hallway with several other doors leading to printing presses, script and music archives, and other rooms that she checked thoroughly. It was in one of these rooms that she’d found one of her rings.

She proceeded past the rooms and towards the lobby, the eerie feeling of the building persisting and making her shiver. This was a feeling she knew well from Earth, buildings that are supposed to be filled with such light, life, and happiness feel wrong when empty. Here it felt amplified like the very air was oppressing her willingness to be in the building. She figured that it was a magical effect but was unsure since the analysis spell for debuffs and conditions was just above her Divine Magic Manipulation level.

Pushing forward, she moved on towards the primary set of double doors that sat opposite the entrance. This was the magically locked doors that the Boss key she’d found was meant for, the magic shields practically visible in the gloom. She turned towards it and stepped over the remains of one of the monsters she fought upon entering. It was something called a Brass Wind Spider, and it looked like a mass of dull orange tubes that led into the main body of what looked like a tuba. It was the size of a golden retriever and had been punctured several times by her daggers.

She knew the drill here from the online forums and held the magical key in her hand, extended in front of her. The key connected with the shield and phased through it without issue, though she could feel the magical barrier against her arm as she moved the key towards the lock. It slid in as one would expect, and she unlocked it with an audible click.

The shield dissipated with a snap, and McKenna entered the theatre. Unlike the rest of the building, all the brass molding, clean velvet paint, plush seats, and the perfect black floor stage were immaculately taken care of.

She took three steps into the room and froze as the auditorium came to life with incandescent yellow magelight. The light started near her, then spread in a wave, removing the eerie green candle flame with the luminescence. Each hung suspended over brackets in the wall and perfectly lit their section of the room.

When the light flowed to the stage, a figure appeared in a freshly formed spotlight that snapped into being upon him.

He was tall, maybe somewhere in the ballpark of six-and-a-half feet tall, and was built as thin as a bean pole. He wore the clean, crisp uniform of a military officer from Europe with all the finery that entails. Braids of golden cord wove over the jacket and down to the trim of the ebon black garment. The pants were a night sky blue with a stripe of red going down the side, and polished boots went up to his knees.

Then there was the Elven man’s face. It was neither attractive nor ugly, just a look that would have blended into a crowd. His hair was a cropped harvest gold that added to the inconspicuous nature of the man.

This instantly went away as a white porcelain helmet formed over his face and covered his head in the space of a breath. The front of the helmet was a simple, disconcerting smiling face that practically exuded dark intention. Smoke oozed from the man’s fingers as a Violin faded into existence in his hands, its wooden surface fractured and burnt. Then the bow for the man coalesced from sparkling red light, and he placed the bow to the Violin.

Boss: Pallari Solinya, The Nightmare Violinist. Health: 100%

This was how she knew she was fighting a real game boss compared to that Columbine Mutator that she’d watched Colin fight. While it was a mighty monster, it wasn’t a Boss monster in Rosengard. Boss Monsters are defined as beings with a name, title, and a percentage health bar that could be seen over the monster’s head.

Your Divine Aura(Conflict) is now active. Since you are in conflict with a Boss and are alone, All skills and abilities are more effective.

Whatever contemplation that she was going to muse about stopped as soon as she heard the first note.

With the first few swift pulls, back and forth, of the bow, nothing seemed to happen. It was just skillful music that McKenna thought was rather awesome. The Boss was making his own fucking battle music.

Then all at once, spouts of blue fire erupted from around the stage and extended almost to the ceiling. The music never faltered or swayed as the Boss started walking around the stage, working magic that McKenna couldn’t read.

The magic formed around a single point in the stage, and an emaciated humanoid form appeared from swirling fog. Its claw-tipped fingers were raised in a double-handed gesture towards McKenna, and she finally moved. Drawing her War Gaff, McKenna sprinted towards the Boss, avoiding a swirl of smoke and ash, only to see another of the misty figures appear in her path and swing at her.

She dove past the attack, rolling back to her feet and spinning around to jam the pointed end into the mist things head. The magic that held its bonds together faded away immediately, and the entire monster dissipated into a simple smoky mist.

Mentally shrugging at the speed of the kill, she pointed a finger at the Violinist and used an off-brand spell from her Femme Fatale Skill called Flirts. Her pointed finger turned into a finger gun as she raised her thumb, smiled coyly, winked, and used the Flirt called Coy Bullet. The tip of her finger lit up a soft, neon pink, firing like a crossbow bolt towards the Boss and impacting his torso.

Boss: Pallari Solinya, The Nightmare Violinist. Health: 98%

The music continued to play even as the Boss flinched at the blow. Two more of the, as she called mentally called them, Mist Shades appeared and came at her. One sprinted at her claws raking, and the others raised their hands and cast out more of the swirling lines of hot ash. She tried to dash out of the way of the raking claws, only to catch one of the lines of ash to the left shoulder.

You have been burned by an Ash Spectre for 7 damage. You now have 357 out of 364 points of health remaining.

“Ow,” McKenna groaned as she moved around to the opposing side of the stairs facing the three Ash Spectres. The Nightmare Violinist played the same tune on repeat behind the trio and just paced around as he played, red heat seeming to build within the burnt instrument. She played enough games to know that anything building in intensity was never good. It was a little unfair that the Boss was doing so this early, but it just meant that she needed to kick it up a notch.

Pointing the finger at the nearest of the Ash Spectres, McKenna fired off a Coy Bullet and killed it in a single strike. She fired it off again, killing one of the ranged Spectres before sprinting towards the last of the three. With the advantage of numbers gone, it was easy for her to step out of the way of the attack and lunge forward, impaling it.

With a flick of her weapon, she flung the ash away and charged towards the Violinist. She hooked the Bosses arm and pulled, trying to pull him off balance and trying to disrupt the music. Though when the bow arm pulled away from the Violin, the music kept on going. It was injured in the attempt, however, and it’s health percentage dropped a point. But as quickly as it was pulled away, the arm returned to play its song.

As Mckenna pulled her weapon back, spike first, she was about to thrust at it spear style, only to feel a set of claws rake at her back.

You have been clawed by an Ash Spectre for 11 damage. You now have 346 out of 364 points of health remaining.

She spun around and swung in a single action, killing the Ash Spectre that had struck at her only to see another three readying their attacks. She turned to kill them again, only for a blast of volcano hot air to impact her back, throwing her away ten feet from the Boss.

You have been blown back by Boss for 5 damage. You now have 341 out of 364 points of health remaining.

“Shiiit!” she groaned as she hurried to her feet again and restabilized her balance. The Boss continued to play its tune as the previously three, now four again, Ash Spectres returned to attacking her.

She swung, stabbed, Coy Gunned, and generally killed Ash Spectres as fast as she could, but the Boss just kept spawning them. She managed to land a few hits, getting him down to 89% health but not making significant headway.

But this whole time, she hadn’t been merely trying to attack the Boss. No, if she were part of a group, she might have attempted that but being alone forces her to think faster and logically. Bosses followed patterns in regular Video Games and had tricks to dealing damage or obvious weaknesses to overcome. But Pallari Solinya only attacked when she got close and stayed close for more than a few seconds. Otherwise, he just summoned these Ash Spectres.

The only consistency she saw was that it kept summoned a set amount more after he got damaged. Now, eleven of these Ash Spectres moved about the large stage space and either closed in and attacked or attacked at range.

Attacking these guys was only making her more and more tired, so she needed a new tactic.

She quickly activated the runes on her War Gaff. This recharging enchantment charged when she attacked and removed exhaustion when she triggered it. The Runes ignited with green light, trails of calm green light spiraling towards her arms, revitalizing her like coffee when it hit her.

Reinvigorated as she felt, McKenna moved forward towards the first trio of oncoming Spectres. She weaved past them, ducking and dodging past them as she flowed like water towards the Boss. When she got within range, she thrust her weapon up towards its chest, impaling it.

Boss: Pallari Solinya, The Nightmare Violinist. Health: 84%

Yet again, she was blasted away from him after a moment.

You have been blown back by Boss for 5 damage. You now have 301 out of 364 points of health remaining.

She repeated the process, sliding on the smooth floor to avoid a quartet of hot ash lines, stepping out of the way of several swings, and dispatching only one of the Spectres on her path. With her thrust this time, she managed to get his guts, pull out, then thrust again before being thrown away.

Boss: Pallari Solinya, The Nightmare Violinist. Health: 74%

After hearing the same tune repeat itself for the last several minutes, McKenna quickly noticed when the music changed to something more chaotic. She watched in anticipation as an Ash Spectre built with runner’s muscle formed complete with a spear in its hands.

“Oh, fuck me,” she groaned. Checking her mana, she found that it had gone back up to full since she’d started focusing on physically mauling the Boss and his minions. She aimed her finger, readying a Coy Bullet and firing before it even moved towards her. Luckily, it’s still vanished in a burst of cinder.

But when it reformed, this time the muscular humanoid was wielding a sizeable bearded ax in its hands. It ran at her, Ax held up above its head, and it was readily noticeable that it was faster than the other Ash Spectres.

Sighing, McKenna parkoured her way through the now about… twenty strong group of Ash Spectres and managing to deal another hit. This time, she slipped her War Gaff under her arm and brought both of her hands to her chest. Framing the center of her chest with both of her hands formed into a heart symbol, McKenna yelled, “Weak Venus Sheild!”

The center of her hands filled with bright pink light as a bubble popped into existence around her. The impending blast did come, impacting her shield but not knocking her away. The weak nature of this shield only allowing it to suffer a single hit without shattering. But when it did, McKenna had drawn her War Gaff again and aimed her thrust up at the Bosses head. Impaling it through the mask.

Boss: Pallari Solinya, The Nightmare Violinist. Health: 58%

The blow had dealt plenty of extra damage for hitting a critical area, but when he pulled away, the mask was immediately reformed with only crusty cinders sticking to the point of her weapon.

Then an arrow impacted her shoulder, knocking her away from the Boss a step before he blasted her away as usual.

You have been shot by a Strengthened Ash Spectre for 19 damage. You now have 282 out of 364 points of health remaining. You have been blown back by Boss for 5 damage. You now have 277 out of 364 points of health remaining.

She stole a moment and found the Bosses Violin was practically on fire. The left hand’s fingers that were controlling the pitch were actively on fire. The Violinist didn’t seem to care as it continued to play away with furious abandonment, normal Spectres vanishing with the fire spurts that surrounded the stage.

The flame geysers reappeared out inside the audience seats, many of the plush chairs bursting into white flame. Several of the Ash Spectres reappeared as their upgraded versions, most of which wielding bows and crossbows.

This next stage of the battle gave her more room to move around, but it also gave her enemy more room to play.

McKenna groaned again during this fight, regretting her choice of coming here without a group or a second person. She just kind of figured she’d be able to power through whatever she had to deal with. So far, this fight’s most useful trick was dodge, advance, and attack the Boss with increasing difficulty.

“Hell no!” McKenna announced. “Fuck you and your manipulative assholery. I am done playing your games,” she stated with confidence.

She triggered the runes on the War Gaff again, its magic making the runes glow a soft leaf green. The stamina regeneration enchantment hit her like coffee after an all-night workload, filling her with energy even as she knew she was about to deplete it. Then she triggered one of her newest skills, Enrage.

You are Enraged for the next minute. All physical Attributes gain a +5 bonus, Mental Resistance is increased by 90%, and you are numb to pain for the duration.

A hellish red tint filled her vision as what little fear or apprehension she had about this fight fled her. Muscles flexed, heart raced on, and a singular focus held her eye as the nearest target as it rushed her.

With a roar, McKenna charged it back. Swinging her War Gaff widely, she caught the coming Ash Spectre on the sharp hook through its torso. Even as the Spectre disintegrated, she spun the weapon above her head with both hands as she stepped forward. Both of the other two in front of her fired their arrows at her. She swept her War Gaff through the air, knocking the projectiles out of the air with the aid of her increased speed and dexterity.

Swinging and spinning as she rushed towards the Boss, dispatching several more as she rushed on. McKenna ducked past a sword swing, parried a lance thrust, dropped past a trio of arrows to get to the Boss. Done playing, she jammed the point of the War Gaff into the Bosses thigh, then dove past the Boss to avoid the knockback strike. She felt the burning hot air impact the area she was before, then struck out again, impaling the Boss through the hip.

With a twist and a pull downward, McKenna pulled the weapon free from the Boss before growling and bracing. She held her footing as the Boss fired the blast of hot air and pushed her back several feet. Roaring, she dove at the Boss again, driving her the hook end through the Boss’s neck.

Boss: Pallari Solinya, The Nightmare Violinist. Health: 37% Status: Bleeding.

Crowing in triumph at the hard-earned bleeding status, she withdrew the hook and was about to go for another blow when the music altered again. The flames extinguished again, and every light in the room went out, only for a whoosh of fire and the blare of hellish light to ignite the auditorium walls. Lovely walls were immediately scorched black, the warmth in the room suddenly became oppressive, and a new Ash Spectre joined the fray.

The giant of a creature lumbered towards her faster than it had any right to, launching a fist the size of her head. She thrust the War Gaff at the coming fist and grinned at the fact that it didn’t immediately die. She was launched a dozen paces away, the War Gaff knocked out of her hands since it was stuck in its fist.

Growling, she drew one of her Daggers, a reward from a quest she did for the Barbarian Guild in Redwood City. McKenna activated its special enchantment, Armament Upgrade.

The Dagger vanished in a burst deep red light, replaced with a two-handed Scottish sword called a Claymore. It wasn’t enchanted, but it was well made and deadly sharp. With twenty seconds left on her timer, she charged.

McKenna pivoted past the large fist and slashed at an oncoming sword-wielder before firing a Coy Bullet at the Boss. When his health dropped a percentage point, she swung the large sword around in a wide 360-degree arc around her, dispatching several more that had come after her. With a roar, she ducked into a sprinter’s starting pose and blasted forward towards the Boss. The intent to finish it off now before her Enrage Skill wore off.

With the extra Attributes, McKenna had an easier time swinging the blade with the appropriate timing. The first strike cut into the Bosses belly, and she followed it up by spinning around and cutting through the Bosses neck, decapitating him with the flex of effort.

The health dropped fast, point by point, while the separated halves attempted to reattach themselves. It succeeded, and the Violinist immediately went back to playing.

Boss: Pallari Solinya, The Nightmare Violinist. Health: 11% Status: Bleeding.

With a jolt like a brake being shoved on after going sixty miles an hour, she felt the Enrage status wear off. The weariness hit her like a bus, and she knew that she was on her last leg in this fight, especially without her stamina regeneration. This did not include the whole body ache she was feeling from all the accumulated damage from the last minute.

She aimed her Coy Bullet and fired at the Boss. Walking and changing her aim as needed to get a clear shot of the Boss. One, two, three, four, five shots, and McKenna was almost out of mana, so she turned to a new idea.

Boss: Pallari Solinya, The Nightmare Violinist. Health: 5% Status: Bleeding.

She might have been able to wait for the Boss to bleed out, but if she did, she might succumb to the still coming attacks from the Ash Spectres. With her one-hundred and nine health remaining, that would not take long with the twenty different varieties around her. She used the spells Weak Crawling Heal and Faint Blessing to give her one final boost before turning the Claymore back into a Dagger.

She reared back her arm and aimed at the pacing Boss. Triggering the enchantment, McKenna threw the Dagger just before it shifted back into a large fuck-off sword. It spun around and flew at the Boss like a frisbee, spinning and whirling until it slammed into the Bosses Violin and shoulder.

Boss: Pallari Solinya, The Nightmare Violinist. Health: -1% Status: dead.

With the Bosses, HP reaching zero, Mckenna breathed easy as she watched as all the Spectres reduced themselves to simple particulate carbon piles.

Congratulations! You have defeated the Boss, Pallari Solinya, and in doing so have conquered the Theatre of the Tainted Orchestra. Look to the Boss to claim your reward.

The Boss, Pallari Solinya, stayed upright as all the summoned enemies faded. A groan escaped his lips as heat shimmers came off his body with smoky tendrils coming off his body as he disintegrated piece by piece. When his torso fell apart, a glittering dark silver item on a chain fell out as the chest cavity turned to dust.

It fell to the floor as an unseen wind started to blow the remains away into the dimming flames.

Congratulations! You have defeated the Dungeon Boss, Pallari Solinya! You have gained 2100 EXP! You have gained 2100 EXP and now have 15,385 /13,672 experience towards level 12. Level up! You are now level 12 and have 5 attribute points to spend. You now have 1713 /20,805 until level 13. For defeating a Dungeon Boss by yourself, you have been awarded 1 skill point to be spent where ever you wish.

“Hell, yeah!” McKenna crowed as she walked over to her fallen War Gaff and activated the enchantment to revitalize her flagging body. The next time she fought a Boss, she either needed help or a means to overpower it easily.

Would you like to teleport to either the outside of the Dungeon or to your respawn point. (The Redwood Church of Weikurt.) Where would you like to go?

She minimized the teleport prompt to look at the item that had fallen out of the Bosses body. It was a black gem encased in a tight-fitting cage of black stained silver, attached to a chain similar make. There was an elegance to the piece, even though there was no other decoration to the piece.

Unknown Amulet. Weight: 340 grams. Item Quality: Indescribable.

A gem not of this world entrapped by a metal cage of near-mythic status. Though this item is pretty, it does emit energy that transcends dimensions.

“Huh, interesting,” McKenna said, wondering at the Item Quality specifically. “What the hell does Indescribable mean?”

When nothing answered back and no prompts appeared, McKenna slipped the item into her pocket, brought the teleport prompt back before her, and teleported back to the temple.

Upon reappearing, McKenna hustled out of the church, wearing her best ‘I’m busy’ face to discourage people from talking to her. Which must have worked since no one elected to speak to her about doing a quest for them like they usually did.

She worked her way across the branches to the Magic Item Shop that was designed for Players specifically. Lola’s Magic Barn was modeled like an actual barn from Earth and was filled to the brim with shelves and magic items. Walking past the curios, weapons, armors, jewelry, and random pieces of one-time-use items like potions, flares, and magical grenades. There was so much magic in the air that McKenna had to stop paying attention, or her ears would start ringing.

“Oh goody, Regina McKenda, welcome back to my shop. Are you going to actually buy something or just have me appraise something else?” The tiny Gnomish woman groaned from behind her desk. She set down the magazine that she was reading, ‘Puff-Puff Elfin,’ and stood up from her desk.

“Just another appraisal,” she answered, pulling out the amulet.

“Alright, one Copper Coin and a first shot at buying it if you do not wish to keep it. You know the drill,” she said, grabbing a large Information Tablet and taking a deep breath. She took the amulet from McKenna and started appraising the item with her magical appraisal skill. Moments later, a blue screen filled the large tablet, displaying the item’s information.

Name: Void Edict. Weight: 340 grams. Item Quality: Indescribable.

This is a Gem made of crystalized Voidstuff trapped within a cage of treated Sansinite and Silver alloy, held by a chain of the same material. This item was lost several millennia ago after an incursion from the Void nearly brought the Korogrant Continent to its knees. When the force’s leader, ‘The VoidBorne’, was finally slain, his spilled blood congealed into this gem. To contain the spilling essence of the Void, the cage was manufactured.

When worn, this item grants the following bonuses: +5 Build, +5 Luck, Onyx Defenses, Void Edict 1 Ability.

“I’ll give you 500 Copper Coins for this!” Lola stated immediately. “No, a thousand. I” give you a thousand Copper Coins for this item!” She said in excitement and panic.

McKenna shook her head, “No, I think I’ll be keeping this.”

Uh, uh, uh, If you give me a day, I might be able to get another thousand Copper Coins. So two thousand Coins if you agree,” she said, now entirely panicked.

“No, thank you,” McKenna stated again, pulling out the money that she owed the little Gnome and turning to leave. “Thank you again, I’ll be back soon to look into your jewelry,” she called while the Gnome practically begged her to stay.”

She slipped the Void Edict around her neck and enjoyed the sensation of her build Attribute increasing. Her next stop was to the Historian’s Guild; she needed to learn more about this item to determine why the game had decided to give her this beauty.

She was most of the way there when something unexpected appeared.

“Excuse me, Ma’am. May I ask for your name?”

McKenna turned around to face the man speaking to her. He was tall, blonde, and had most of his body covered except for a shimmery black cloak clasped closed by a pendant. It was a little weird that anyone would appear out of nowhere to ask someone for their name, but shrugged it off. Why would anyone be coming after her?

“Regina McKendra, why?” she asked. “Actually, I’m kind of going somewhere. Can we talk about this some other time?”

“No, I need you to come with me, Ma’am-” he said, mere seconds before McKenna sucker-punched him in the face. A second person in a black cloak appeared behind her, and McKenna heard him coming. She pulled free her War Gaff and swung it behind her, jabbing the oncoming Player through the ribs with the hook. With a twist in the opposite, she pulled the weapon loose and jammed the pointed end through the oncomers face.

He died a few seconds after she pulled it free from his skull and walked back over to the man she stunned first. He was holding his face, bleed drizzling from his nose, and eyes watering. He seemed to be having a hard time focusing on anything past the tears.

“So, I have one question for you, and if you don’t answer, let’s just say that Instead of a quick death, I will just throw you off this tree. Do you understand?” She asked, honey practically from her lips.

“What. the fuck. Is the question?!” he moaned, trying to clear his vision.

“Why are you here?” she asked, keeping her voice as sweet as possible.

He gingerly wiped his nose before speaking, “fuck you,” he moaned.

Shrugging, McKenna punching him in the face again. The crunch this time was less satisfying, but it still did the trick to make the noncompliant compliant. “Try again.”

“Oh fuck, you crazy bitch, we got Intel that said that you got something connected to the Void, and we want it and to know how you got it.”

“SO, I take it that you two were from this Void Children Guild that I’ve heard about? Well, when you respawn, tell your superiors to either leave me alone or live with what happens next. Oh, since I had to ask twice,” McKenna grabbed the collar of the man with one hand and his belt with another. With a heave, McKenna threw him over her head and off the tree. He screamed the whole way down until he hit the sudden stop at the bottom.

You have defeated two unknown Players! Since this was a player and not a monster or NPC, you do not get any experience for the win. Remember, Player versus Player is allowed in Rosengard but not encouraged. Let others have fun without the worry of player murder.

She dismissed the prompt with a huff as she continued towards the Historian’s Guild.

“There will be no problem if they make no problems,” she grumbled, kicking the other body off the building.

It really was too bad that the next day she had to kill another group.