***Earth Side***

“Mr. Quimby we have had a potential issue among the lotto winners. Several of these gamers have ignored our warning about the Karma system in place and are killing indiscriminately. Some have even created a big enough impact to draw attention from the political systems in their regions.”

Taylor McLaughlin was an intern at Titan and took her job very seriously. It was a very difficult process just to be accepted for consideration for internship and somehow she was able to overcome the odds and become an intern. When she started getting reports from testers about dying or coming across dead npc’s she knew she had to inform the Public Affairs Director Alistair Quimby.

“A number of testers have sent in reports and I’ve compiled the data to show the progression and evolution of these acts. For some of them the killings were simply collateral damage from massive attacks on enemies and can be ruled out as intentional; however, these here are clearly intentional. One has even discovered a way to spread diseases not just to humanoids, but to beasts and monsters as well. The cumulative effects from the disease is exponential as the region is tribal.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Taylor, the Karma system will take care of the situation. You do remember that after a certain point the tester will be locked out of the system correct? Until that point the player will experience some unfortunate events as an opportunity to change. How that is expressed is up to the A.I. System, but unless they are physically harmed I don’t think it matters what they go through.”

After Taylor leaves Alistair makes a call, “It’s me.”

“What is it.”

“Karma system will be implemented soon. It’s the lotto winners.”

“That’s good to hear. I’m surprised it is so soon though. I thought it would be months from now.”

“Yes, the lotto group and VA group have only had two and a half days to play, or roughly 10 in game days, but it is not surprising as the lotto group was a mixed bag of personalities whereas the veterans tend to draw from a small pool.”

“That makes sense. Has any of them figured it out yet?”

“We had one that panicked on immersion, but we were able to resolve it quickly. They won’t be alerting the others.”

“Then continue keeping me updated.”

***For Glory***

As I’m closing the door I hear Grim, “You should stop by the outer courtyard and report to Captain Appius for training.” Meeting Grim was nothing like I had imagined, but from what I understand it would be smart to do as he says. It doesn’t take me long to come across a passing servant and ask them how to get to the outside courtyard.

“Mistress, the courtyard is currently in use by the Lord’s guards for training. If you would like fresh air I can lead you to the inner courtyards if you wish.”

“I was told to report to a Captain Appius and that he was in the courtyard. It is possible that the trainer is among the guard.”

“I’m sorry Mistress, I do not know the answer to that.”

“That’s fine just lead me there and I’ll see for myself.”

“Please follow me Mistress.”

Having heard about the training I feel excited; so, far outside of the blade moves I was shown I have not been formally trained in anything leaving me to fumble my way through. We quickly walk through the keep until we finally reach the entryway I remembered from before. The door is currently open with two guards at either side and the sounds of clacks, grunts, and a man yelling out are clearly heard. I turn around to thank the servant only to find she has already left.

Entering the courtyard I find it is surprisingly bright for this time of day. In the walls of the keep, lights shine brightly enough to illuminate the entire courtyard. An older man in a dark grey gambeson that reaches to his knees was moving between men calling out movements in a loud voice followed by two assistants. At times he would reach out with his walking stick to smack an offending limb as he corrected positions.

As he is in the middle of a training sequence I wait for a good moment to ask his permission to join, but he quickly notices me, “Veridius! Casio! Take over.” The assistants bow before breaking out of formation behind him to pick up where the man left off.

“Ah, the native who is on Journey. I somehow expected you to be…more. It seems I have my work cut out for me. The Baron and Grim informed me that I was to give you personal training for the next two days so that you would be less likely to get in the way, however, I do not like tardiness. Run ten laps around the keep.” After speaking he sneers at me, “Well, are you going to go or not? Fifteen laps now. Every time I have to say something you will have to do five more laps.”

I head to side of the courtyard before he adds anymore laps to my count and try my best to run, but I’m still wearing sandals and can feel the blisters forming before the first lap is over. I try to stop and take them off but the man yells out, “Five more laps! You do not get to change clothes in the heat of battle! Next time make sure you are wearing appropriate clothes at all times!”

Despite being in better shape compared to when I first entered the pod, I haven’t done a lot of running and it shows when my side begins to stitch after the eighth lap. Lucky for me, this courtyard is not overly large. By the time I finish the last lap the guards training have finished. The man from before comes up to me, “Well, that was sloppy and slow, but it will have to do for now. What weapons are you, and I say this loosely, skilled in?”

“Sir, my skills are in Polearms, Small Blades, and Archery.”

“We shall have to see about that. For now pair off with Casio there and demonstrate.”

I’m still breathing heavily and wipe sweat the sweat on my hand on my clothes before accepting the dagger Casio holds out to me. It is wooden and heavier than my current dagger. My muscles feel so weak that I almost drop it.

“Begin!”

Casio is on me before I get a chance to blink. My sluggish movement is too slow to block the slice across my chest. Pain blossoms from the impact, but I don’t get a chance to respond before a stab at my hand makes me drop the wooden knife and another taps me in the side.

“You are dead. Next weapon, Veridius!”

I reach down and pick up the dagger to hand over to Casio as Veridius approaches with two spears. This demonstration is no better and ends with me pushed onto my backside with a spear point at my neck.

“You are dead. Casio!”

Veridius is kind enough to pick up my spear for me and Casio hands me a bow and three arrows. The bow is loose and it takes me a long time to summon the energy to string it. Once it is strung I look around and see Veridius step away from a target he must have set up.

“From your position shoot the arrows at the target!”

The first two arrows I manage to draw a full pull, but the shake of my arms made aiming very difficult and only landed one arrow at the edge of the target only to fall out from lack of depth. The last pull I tried really hard to draw fully, but I just couldn’t and finally my grip slipped and the arrow fell well short of the target.

“I’ve seen enough you are dismissed. Meet me here tomorrow at first light wearing proper clothes, this time don’t be late.”

The assistants take the bow and target and follow their Captain away as I trudge my way back into the keep. I’m falling asleep as I follow a servant who was waiting for me in the entryway to my room. I do not even wait for the servant to leave before undressing on my way to the bath to soak the pain and sweat away. Bara follows me with a laughing look in his eyes; so, once I’m in the water I make sure to splash him good. “Bara, I’ve a feeling I will have trouble waking the next couple of days. Do you think you can wake me early enough to get to training?”

The bath isn’t as long as I would like, but I started to fall asleep and the bed is less likely to drown me. As soon as my hit the pillow I sleep only to be woken up by Bara smacking my head with his paws. Half asleep, I go through the motions of getting dressed in the clothes laid out for me. When I get to my shoes I realize that these were not the clothes I had on yesterday or were even mine. The shoes are loose flaps of leather with an iron plate that laced on and long laces I assumed were for wrapping the boots all around like tall moccasins. Looking at my clothes I see the top was very similar to the instructor’s, baggy pants with leather reinforcement on the knees, leather gloves nearby and a skull cap.

Dressed in the new clothes I open my door to see a servant waiting to lead me. They do not speak, but after a bow they head down the hallway leaving me to catch up. Once again in the courtyard I see boys and girls waiting quietly in formation before the assistants and my instructor off to the side. Seeing I have arrived he nods at my clothing and motions me to join the children.

As I fall in Casio speaks, “We will begin with dagger drills today. Basic dagger movements are thrust, counter, and evade. Everything else is based off of these basic movements. Watch carefully as I demonstrate a sequence that you will shortly be doing.” With that he begins to demonstrate a five part combination of thrusts with counters and repeats it a few times while counting out to ten. “Please move to your posts and practice the combination you just saw five hundred times. We will begin the first set with me calling the numbers after that you will count off as you make each move.”

Veridius points me to a pole off to the side and I move in front of it waiting for the first count. I miss the count a few times and Veridius stays by me to point out my errors until I get it right a few rounds then goes to help other students. By the time the five hundredth set comes around I do not even think about the motion or numbers anymore.

Once the last count is said, Veridius starts to speak, “It is now time to do laps, run twenty laps! The last ten to finish will have to do fifteen more laps.” With that we begin to run and I find I am not the slowest, but not fast enough to break out of the last ten. Once I finish the laps I gather with the students back in the formation. “Regular students are dismissed. Barbarians will stay.”

The rest of the day goes by in a blur of repetitious movements between spear and dagger. There was a brief break for a energizing snack midday and lots of water breaks, but other than those it was non stop training. When my energy began to lag a mage was sent for to be on hand and bath me in spells that erased the weariness. When I asked the instructor why he did that his response was less than inspiring.

“I only have you for two days and we are going to make the most of it.”

* * *

Casio and Veridius tried to flank me on either side with a classic pincher move as I use my spear to swat at one then the other. The sun is directly overhead heating everything in the courtyard and making my hands slick. Veridius darts in with his dagger and manages to get through my defense to tap my leg. My leg deadens as though hamstrung as the spell cast earlier takes effect simulating the injuries we would have gotten.

With my movement now limited, I have to end this fight quickly and wait until Casio closes in to finish me off I balance carefully on my good leg and push off the floor with all my force spinning my spear to slash downward on him. He goes down as I feel the tip of a blade at the back of my neck as I land following him down on the ground.

“It’s an improvement, but that last attack was fool hardy leaving you vulnerable. You are fortunate he waited for you to land before finishing you off. How are you going to change directions in the air? Release the spell, mage, and be dismissed.”

“Well, my trainee, you have done well this past day and a half. You’ve managed to reach Apprentice in Small Blades, Basic in Archery and Polearms with a main focus in Spear subskills stabbing, blocking, and slashing up to Apprentice. It’s is quite the improvement and as the Grim did not want you tired on your journey we must stop here so that you may rest.” As he says this, he bows and adds, “You have earned the right to call me by name trainee, know that I am Captain Auren Appius.”

I bow in return and take my leave of the courtyard as quickly as is seemly. I’m sure I’ll have nightmares of this time for years to come. This was the most intense training torture I have ever been through and the increase to my skills left me satisfied-if not willing to ever do this again. It feels like years since I last had a bath.

A servant leads me to my room and assists me with undressing as my clothes were so saturated with salt and sweat they were stiff enough to snap. Afterwards she led me to the bathing room and scrubbed my tired body. Feeling more revived after a long hot soak I wave the girl away and dress once more into my colorful desert outfit-whatever was left of my fat has long since disappeared in the courtyard.

Free to do as I please I go to leave the keep when a guard intercepts me, “Mistress Winter I will have to follow you into the town. My orders are from the Baron.” As he says this it crosses my mind to lose him in the crowd of townspeople, but there is no need and it isn’t like I have the energy to do more than a brief visit.

We quickly make our way to the tribe herd and the guard proves useful in giving directions to get there quickly. Renoke sees me return and is instantly concerned when he sees the guard shadowing me. “We were concerned when we hadn’t heard from you in a while; so, I remained in town in case you needed me.”

“He is there to protect me as I have been given a task by the leaders of their nation. It is of benefit to the tribe so do not be distressed. We are taking action soon against the disease spreader.”

“Oh! Well then all is fine. We of the Dancing Gazelle tribe would be happy to help you provision if you need it. Will you be taking Sule with you?”

“I am not sure at this time since I do not know what I will be doing or if I will be traveling.” I look at the guard and raise a brow, but he shakes his head in denial of any knowledge.

“Then just in case we will provide you with a mount and ready Sule should you need them. It is the least we can do to help resolve this situation.” My ass hurts in memory of riding a gazelle, but I accept the offer as it can’t hurt. Ha! “Please make sure Sule is carrying food and drink for me and any extra feed you feel she may need as well as ten glass vials, a sewing kit, one hundred arrows, the non perishables previously stored, a mess kit, and whatever else you feel may be useful for extended journeys. When I return I will find a way to repay you for all these supplies.”

“Repayment is not necessary, we look out for our own and you are aiding us all.”

After meeting with the tribe members I turn to the guard and ask him to lead us back. I am tired and need to rest and have done what I could. When I return to my room I find the armored clothing I wore before has been cleaned and mended. I’m unable to stop the shiver that crawls up my back at the sight of it, but it is after all only clothing.

It’s too early to sleep as the sun is still shining so I relax in the sitting area attempting to meditate and think of the land. The connection is more elusive and I am uncertain if it is the building or my tiredness interfering. After a while I stop and just zone out while sitting. A knock on the door pulls me back to the present and when I answer I find the Grim outside.

“If you would join me, I would like to escort you to supper. Afterwards, I need to discuss with you the details of your position tomorrow.”

I take his offered hand and he places it on his elbow leading me down to the dining area that I believe was called a great hall. His chill manner is antagonistic, but I let it slide since I don’t have enough information about these Grims. They sound like bad news to me and angering a nation I know very little about and a part of Karma is a bad idea. This will be my first supper at the keep having missed the chance before in my impromptu meditation so long ago.

Walking through a set of doors with filigree on them I enter a room that is unlike the rest of the keep. The lofted roof has arches and beams and the walls are decorated with tapestries and filigreed stonework. A table sits on a raised platform at the end facing long rows of tables where numerous guards and finely dressed folk were arranged. The Grim leads me to the head table and remains standing at the end.

Before long the Lord, his wife, two sons, and daughter join us. As he stands behind a chair to the center, “Praise be to Alta! Let us eat this bountiful food and be ever resolute!” With that said he sits and the Grim motions me to sit as he and the rest of the room sits. Servants come out of the doors carrying a variety of meats, cheeses, vegetables, and bread.

All manner of combinations appear before us and a servant in fine dress and a silver chain about his neck approaches and takes bites of every dish before releasing them to be set before the lord. After each dish is tested his hand reaches to his chain and waits a moment. With a flourished bow he retreats back through a door and leaves us.

As exciting as it was to see a poison tester in action, my hunger had begun to overtake me as the aromas reached me. I had been eating a strict diet when training the past couple of days and having such a rich feast before me was a new kind of torture. Once the Baron took his first bite the rest of us were served and I was full in no time. The Grim, as usual, ate carefully and slowly.

After a while I begin to nod off and get shaken awake as the Lord stands up to leave signaling the end of the feast. We all stand as the Lord steps away from the head table with his family and some of the people return to their supper, but the Grim takes my hand on his elbow again and forces me to leave with him. The careful positioning of his hand trapping my hand against his arm suddenly reminded me of a method we trained in the Army to escort high profile detainees without appearing aggressive while maintaining control. I would bet all my money that he was doing the same thing.

We walk down the corridors and reach my room and walk in. Once we are in the Grim taps the disc he carries and mumbles. The sharp snap wakes me up completely. Fortunately Bara is in the room already. “Bara this is the Grim who we will be working for.”

Bara saunters over and looks the Grim up and down before turning his back on the man and begins to lick his genitals. It would appear that Bara is less then impressed. Grim, for his part, appears interested in the Greater Forest Lynx. It is the first time I have seen him with an expression that wasn’t chilling or impassive and makes him look young.

“I had heard about totems, but this is my first time seeing one. Given your speech, I assume he is intelligent?”

“So far Bara appears to understand me; however, we’ve yet to come to a decent way to communicate with each other.”

“I see, I will have to add that information to my tabulations. Now, I see that you have been training hard and will be less of a burden then before, but we simply do not have the time needed to bring you to optimal levels. We will be heading out tomorrow bright and early. I’ve arranged for a mount for myself and have heard that you are already taken care of in that regard. I also hear you have a pack creature. That is good since we will be on the road until we catch up to these villains.”

“The armor you used in training has been paid for by the Emperor in his generosity and thanks for your involvement. For the most part you will be next to me except in emergencies where you will fall back behind me and the line of defenders. You are not to attempt any form of heroics. Do not worry about your mount and pack they will be here in the morning. A servant will get you when it is time to leave. For now rest.”

With that he leaves and shortly after the snap of the ward lets me know he is gone. I undress and pack my clothes and resort items by need in my pack with quick use items and cookware at the top easy to reach and things like the blanket at the bottom. Once everything is arranged the way I like it I set it near the armor outfit and go to sleep.

Morning is quick as ever as I wake to a servant shaking me. A shocked gasp escapes them as I rise up naked. A cup of hot liquid is handed to me and it smells a little of coffee from Earth, but drinking it reveals it is a lot less bitter though the jolt is much the same. Fully awake and dressed in the padded gambeson and other clothes from training a boy enters with dark grey leather in his arms. As he approaches I see it is a type of leather armor that has separate bands around the waist overlapping. Once he is close enough he begins to lace me into it and I find it is very snug once the straps are tightened. The chest is followed by light paulders. bracers and finally, the last bit of leather, a wide brimmed hat reinforced with metal inside the bowl. The female servant braids my hair tightly into a bun off my neck and sets the hat on my head.

Finished they exit and I follow shortly after picking up my pack and making sure I didn’t leave anything behind. It doesn’t take long to get to the courtyard and find Bara sitting like a warlord by the gazelles. There are fifteen men in the courtyard with enough horses for each and extra to carry packs. Grim is mounted on the only black horse and motions me to hurry and also mount up.

Many of the men in the group have the look of huntsmen or trackers, but some are clearly mages and warriors. Once I am mounted I see Grim motion to two scout types who head out at a fast gallop which we follow shortly at a slower pace. It doesn’t take long to exit the town and make our way to the plain’s gate. We turn north headed to Dancing Gazelle tribe reaching it by early afternoon.

Dancing Gazelle looks much improved and many of the town tribe members had returned with their herds making it all the more lively. The elder come out and greets us, “I see you have returned with outlanders. Are they here to find the troublesome ones?”

“Yes, this is the Grim sent by the Emperor himself when he heard about them.”

“It is as Kara Winters has said, Madam, we will not interfere in your lives if at all possible. We are here now to see what tracks remain. If you have anything of theirs or that they touched it would speed things up.”

“I’m sorry to say we have nothing like that, but if it helps they approached from over there.” She points out a place more southerly to our current position and leaves us. As she turns she winks at me and gives me a warm smile.

“Come Kara, you must stay with me.”

I follow closely behind the Grim, not bothered by the fact that I am not playing an active role in the hunt since this is an opportunity to learn from the trackers and watch the Grim. Since the start of the ride I’ve had time to figure out the roles of the people around me. There are: three scout/trackers with bows and short swords, two mages, six warrior types with long swords and shields, and four who are hard to define, but seem like a specialized magic, spear, and shield combination. The only reason why I add magic to the spear guys is because they are glowing with tattoo like lines all over their armor, shield, and skin. They seem like a unique class it’s just a shame I can only learn shaman and elemental magic…

As we exit the village the scouts spread out as the Grim inspects the ground leaving me to stand near him. When I try to follow him, “Don’t move or you’ll ruin what sign remains on the ground.” Bara, however, is allowed to follow and sniff the ground like a dog. I guess he feels the cat is more useful then I am right now. After a bit, the Grim finishes searching and consults quietly with Bara who I can see is nodding or shaking his head in response. Standing up the Grim whistles loudly drawing in the scouts and they all discuss.

Feeling very left out I go back to my mount and sit on it so I can do something more productive: meditate. Every time I’ve meditated I’ve discovered a new aspect to the magic system inside me. Before it was difficult to understand how magic could work when it was something that was supposed to be innate and the fact that we don’t have magic on Earth.

It seemed like a poor way to set up the game to work, but now that I’ve been able to unlock a couple of my subskills it feels incredibly natural and challenging. Maybe other magic systems are less introspective or intuitive compared to shaman magic. I’ve yet to get really advanced in elemental so don’t know much about it yet.

Now seems like a good time to practice meditation on the go; so, as the scouts discuss I begin to zone out and concentrate on one of the other subskills I had yet to try: stone shield. In some games I’ve played there were actions like “stoneskin” that sounded similar to this. It is possible that there are more than one way to express shaman subskills as well so I will start with the stone skin since trying to make a stone wall could be counter productive at this time.

My grandparents used to give me rocks as souvenirs from their travels. It was an exciting thought to be able to hold something from another country or city. Some rocks, like from Hawaii, were heavy dark basalt, others were very colorful like agates or geodes, and some were simply granite, but the variety and history of each rock led me to later collect some from my travels. Thinking of the caves I visited with my family and the smell of deep earth, bat guano, the sparkle of crystals, green obsidian.

Once the thoughts begin to fill me I can almost taste the heavy air and feel the chill I think of it becoming my skin, malleable and dense. Opening my eyes I see the world in muted tones. Turning my head I see one of the mages watching me closely while the other is taking notes. Looking down at my hand I see it looks glossy and dark with hints of colors flashing in the light. My hand grips easily and rubbing my forefinger on my thumb feels slightly slippery, but the same. This is interesting and could be pretty useful, but I have no idea how long it lasts or how to make it go away. Looking at the gazelle it doesn’t appear to be over burdened so it isn’t an issue for now. I close my eyes and go back to meditating about rocks thinking of specific types and remembering each feeling I had about them.

In this way the day passes quickly, I assume that someone took the lead of my gazelle as I meditated since the next time I opened my eyes it was getting dark. The party had already set up camp and the mages were drawing glowing sigils around the camp. Next to me the Grim was studying a mirror in his hand. My last thought had been about an interesting quartz that had flecks of red in it so I figure I should see if my stone skin had changed, but looking at my skin I see just my regular skin. It must need a focused intention to trigger it.

Seeing my movement the Grim looks up at me, “The mages report that you became stone then turned back, I hope that this was intentional?”

“Ah, yes I was meditating on another of my subskills since it seemed useful. I have only been on Journey a short while and haven’t unlocked all my abilities yet. Stone Shield seemed like a useful sort to work on next. Was it troublesome leading me around?”

“Rather than being troublesome, I would say it was incautious. We could be attacked at any moment; so, please notify me ahead of time if you would like time to meditate. Now, since you are aware again I want you to practice your healing on each of us so that you gain proficiency quickly, but try to not exhaust yourself. One of the scouts earlier was bitten by a snake so they will be your first patient.”

The Grim leads me to the side of the camp to where the scout is laying on his side with a leg bandaged. “It wasn’t poisonous, but snake bites tend to fester so please do what you must to heal him.”

It only takes a short thought about water to fall into the zone again and I reach out to the man before me. Even though my eyes are closed I can see him clearly and what looks like vessels branching all through his body. Near his foot the cool tones turn angry red and I focus on healing the bite. As the red begins to cool I see darkening particles flow through the veins and disappear.

Each round of healing shows more and more detail and it opens possibilities like magical surgery rather than over all healing. Perhaps in this way I can maximize my impact with less energy from myself? Once I finish I see the mages have finished and are sitting near by me.

“Hello?”

They look at each other before one speaks up, “We are Mages of the Imperial Magistrum in Alteria, Mergus and Scipio.”

“Kara Winters of the Laughing Crow Tribe” I say as they seem to be waiting for something.

“How quaint,” the one on the right speaks up for the first time. He is very thin and has a balding head making him look skeletal. The one that spoke before has black hair and dark eyes and an arched nose somewhat like a beak, but not overly pronounced.

“Do not mind Scipio, he finds everyone is beneath his notice,” Mergus tells me conspiratorially. “Now, earlier in the day we saw an interesting phenomenon where you become like a statue, but were able to move naturally. Was that a Shaman skill?”

“Yes.”

“Well do go on, we need to take lots of notes to send back home.”

“Well, I don’t actually know very much about my magic yet. I am not even sure if it is like traditional magic like yours at all.”

“I see your point, how can you say what it is like on a comparison basis when you have no comparison. Well, then we shall have to teach you the basic of ours!”

“Unless it is elemental, I’m afraid I cannot learn yours. My people are only able to learn elemental and shamanistic magic.”

“Ah, then explanations shall have to suffice. I am an Arcane Magister, and Scipio is a Warder; so we’ll just have to write down everything you say and tell you about the different magics.”

“Magic in the civilized realms,” cuts in Scipio, “is Ritual, Natural, Contractual, or Divine. There are variations of these and even combinations, but the basic blocks of magic are these and all magic is driven by intent. In our party, excluding yourself, we have Ritual and Divine magics. As a warder I have both Ritual and Divine, but unlike the Altori in our midst. Ritual is stronger than Divine, while Divine is stronger then Ritual for them.”

“Altori?”

“They are the spear wielders with the shields. They are priests of a martial sort to the nation’s god, Alta.”

“Rituals are methods that require motions, words, and sometimes components to initiate a spell. Natural are magics like your Elemental that are at least one of the five elements, Air, Fire, Water, Earth, Metal. Contractual is the basic summoning magic where anything from golems to bats are called for to aid a mage. Finally we arrive to Divine. Divine is inspired by a patron deity or spirit that produces ‘miracles’ that represent the patron; however, it is still magic.”

“From what we have seen of your meditation your magic appears to be Intuitive with a mix of Natural and Contractual. We have heard of Intuitive magics before, but do not classify it as it is a rare type. The Magistrum as deemed such types as the exception that proves the rule rather than the norm.”

“We have a chance to study an Intuitive type of magic which will require lots of notes to bring back; so, now you understand the basics let us begin our study as you go about healing everyone we will be using different wards and spells to gauge what you are doing so pay no attention to what we are doing.”

With this said, I begin to go around the group as the Grim commanded, but after the third person I remembered that I was able to do a group heal before and would like to be done with this already. I choose a central spot and begin to meditate The last time I did this was for the Dancing Gazelle tribe with Bara’s help, but I hope with my new understanding of precise surgical healing that I will not need him.

It takes longer to get into the River Cleanse mood while pushing my awareness to the eleven people left. The warriors and scouts were the easiest since they were not active in magic right now, but the Altori, the Mages, and the Grim were all doing something. I decided it would be easier to take care of the warriors and scouts first since they were easy and I would tackle the rest in smaller groups. One of the warriors had a bit of smudge near his joints and the others just had faint impressions on bones or muscles that I took for bruises and cleared that all away. The scouts had very little on them other than their muscles so they were quick to clear up.

Focusing on the Altori, I see they are still active and it is likely related to the fact that they always glow with those tattoos I saw before. They seem to sense my intrusion into their systems; so, I pause and make the mental equivalent of a knock. A surge of something comes up it feels like I’m yanked to somewhere else.

* * *

When I open my eyes I found myself in the same place with everyone going about as usual. Did I really feel like I was being pulled somewhere? It must have just been my imagination. One of the Altori watches me, but what was going on before whatever happened is blurry. I think in the future I will avoid using magic on them…just in case.

One of the Mages cough and raise an eye at me. That’s right! I was in the middle of the task the Grim had set. I focus on the Mages only to be blinded at first by their mana. River Cleansing a mage is very different to everyone else since it is hard to see them. In the end I do the mental equivalent of closing my eyes and just sense. It doesn’t take long to see that one of them is feeling muscle fatigue from riding. By trying a different way to sense I’ve just learned that I can feel what they feel. River Cleanse is like being an empath only able to cure what ills. This could be very useful.

By the time I get to the Grim he waves me away when he sees me looking at him. “You look tired so skip me tonight.” As he says this I feel exhausted and fall asleep quickly. When I wake the next morning I mull over the exhaustion that suddenly overcame me and can’t decide if it was the Grim who did it or if I really had been tired. There were too many things that happened at the end between the Altori, the Mages, and the Grim it really could have been a natural effect. I’ll just squirrel the information in my mind for now.

“Kara we will be moving quickly today. I had word from one of the trackers the Baron sent before I arrived that the people we are looking for have been sighted headed to Bartuk. We will have to ride hard to get to Crossroads tonight. We will be changing mounts at Resolution Point and so leave your gazelles there when we switch.”

Camp is dismantled quickly and everyone riding before the sun has risen from the horizon. The pace was a mixture of trots and fast walks and fairly uncomfortable. Once the walls are in sight a scout pushes their horse into a gallop and leaves the party. As we near the keep horses can be seen tacked up and waiting with dozens of servants ready to grab our lathered and exhausted mounts. The change is brief and I quickly find myself on a horse trotting out another gate.

The scenery is similar to the plains, but greener and more shrubs and trees dotting the landscape. Any other differences will have to wait for a moment when I can relax. It is dark as we reach Crossroads and catch up to the scout from before.

“Grim, I’ve had word from the person who sighted the enemy. They are still at Bartuk and have sieged the monastery there.”

“We have very little time to delay then, but it would be bad to approach them without any rest. Four hours we’ll head out.” The Grim has lost some of the smoothness to his speech as the quarry gets closer. By this point I am falling asleep in the saddle and quickly follow the others to an inn nearby with stabling. Given the short rest we do not change clothes and sleep with the horses.

In four hours I’m shaken awake and fumble through the saddling process; only to have one of the scouts push me away to fix the buckles and slap the stomach to let out the air and tighten some more. After that I mount groggy eyed and direct my horse to follow the Grim’s. As I line up beside him he turns to me, “You seem to get rested while meditating; so, I will allow you to do so until we reach the mountain path leading to Bartuk.”

I gladly sink into oblivion. It doesn’t take long in the nothingness before I am smacked across the face. Opening an eye I see a tired and displeased Grim across from me, “Are you rested?” I nod my head. “Good, we will be riding up part of the path, but then we will be walking. Make no noise.”

The Mountain before us is more of a glorified hilltop. The path can be seen zig zagging through some of the trees that cover the hill. The sun is high in the sky by the time we reach the point where we dismount. We are about half way up the path when a person in dark robes appears over the rise above us.

“Oh look! More fun has arrived! These guys wouldn’t happen to belong to you would they?” As the robed person says this he kicks two bodies over the ledge. Sores covered their bodies so heavily that we could only identify they bodies by the clothes they wore. They were the scouts that had set out ahead of us. I start to move towards them but the Grim holds his arm in my way.

“We have been sent by the Emperor to stop you and your comrades. I give you this one chance to surrender.”

“I’m so scared.” The robed figure says sarcastically. “Hey! Matt did you hear what he just said?”

“I told you to call me Morbus.”

“Oh ya sorry, that name is redic you know.” Pointing at us, “They seem like all the rest.”

“It doesn’t matter, let’s kill them and continue our search.”

As the hooded figure starts to speak his hands move in a quick motion and black mist begins to surround him as he says, “Got it oh high and mighty Morbus.”

The mist begins to lash out in tentacle like motions at us as we dive off the path and into the woods. One of the guards cries out as he begins to break out in lesions that spread across his body rapidly. A new figure walks up as he pulls his hood down revealing features so pale they look stark white with shockingly deep red eyes. A warrior off the to right hisses out, “Necrota.”

“Didn’t your mother teach you better manners? I guess it can’t be helped since you are about to die. I am Morbus. Savor in the face of the one about to destroy you.” As he speaks his eyes begin to glow.

Sensing something bad about to happen I start to move but the Grim steps out first and shouts a word that somehow eludes comprehension. A shout rings out as a shield pops up around us and whips of crackling blue energy spark all around. Another shout creates a purple beam from his hands towards Morbus. I guessed he had power, but this is display of super magic is incredible. I want a beam! Just as the beam is about to hit Morbus hooded figures step around him and chant as they slice their arms. The blood grows unnaturally and shields against the attack.

Just as the shield snaps in place a guttural chant is heard and swarms of black flecks start to swirl around them as everyone in my party looks on with shock. We don’t get a chance to do anything before the blood spins into a funnel and crashes down on our shield breaking holes all around it. The Grim looks exhausted as he begins to sing out a chant of his own with the mages layering shield after shield into the fading arc around us. The warriors can do nothing against the magic and the Altori are gone.

All that is left is me. I hastily try to slip into meditation and look at Bara who has been very quiet this entire journey. He feels my gaze as I look to him for help. He sighs and stalks over to me placing his head against my chest gently. His eyes shimmer in the between place and they seem like they are crying. I hug him strongly as he begins to send me energy.

I continue to hold him for comfort as I work on the concept in my mind. I feel the River and Stone around us very clearly and begin to push out to meet the thinning shield above us. It is slow going as I struggle to hold the shape in its bubble form and harder still once I get close to the blood above us. The feel of the blood is sickening as it starts touching my energy. Soon my shield is the only shield above us and it is holding, but I’m not done yet as I begin to pull up Earth Balm to energize my team inside.

Shouts can be heard outside as I maintain multiple focus at once. I have no energy or concentration to spare, but some of that feeling I once had wiggles it’s way back into my heart. By taking the initiative without anyone asking or pushing me to do something, I have made a difference. As Bara and I begin to run out of energy a pulse shakes out that almost tears me from my work. Opening my eyes I see the world in a type of multi-sight where water energies, earth energies, and stone energies overlay the real world.

Shining brightly the Altori have appeared. One on each corner around the Necrota and his followers each Altori has slammed his spear into the ground and point their shields upwards. As they shine brighter and brighter words echo out even in my in between place.

“Alta God of Justice and Retribution!” They shout in unison, “We have watched and waited for these before us to repent, but they have chosen to use the vilest magics and attack. We call upon you Alta as we stand before these cretins to punish them so that justice may be had!”

With each word an oppressive force builds in the area until I finally begin to drop all magic and then to the ground. Bara falls beside me limp. Unable to even lift my head all I can do is watch Morbus as he was the closest to me. Light is surging around and they begin to scream as lesions burst from their own skin.

“Retribution has been made. Know that as you suffer you feel every death you have caused. One hundred days you will feel their deaths, but Alta is a Just God and all deserve a chance at redemption. You are given the choice to come with us on a journey…”

Whatever else is said I could not tell you because exhaustion hit me stronger than ever before and I blacked out.

***Earth Side***

“If you were to ask any gamer what their worst nightmare would be what do you think it is?”

“Banning?”

“Well, they certainly hate that, but the reason people play games is because with anonymity they can escape the consequences of their actions. Karma has just initiated on the ones I spoke to you about before and do you know what they will face? Consequences.”

“This game is too realistic. Wouldn’t player reaction be to stop playing right?”

“Well, this is only a test for the larger program, but we have implemented a system that removes the option of deleting characters and starting over. Should they try they will find their new character has the same karma. The leader of this group has already attempted to spread to the media about what happened, but we took care of it. The next time he logs in his pod will be moved to the long term facility where the Veterans are housed.”

“Won’t people wonder what happened to him?”

“They would, except we chose the Lotto winners based on their environment by picking loners or the ones with few friends and then picked the friends who were also alone. Of course, everything is proper in the paperwork the testers signed.”

“Glad I’m this side of the call.”