Gii slowly made his way down the street, keeping a trained eye on the doors of Crassius’s temple. He had been waiting close by inconspicuously and taking stock of all the people that were going in and out of the temple. As he saw the head priest waving to the guests exitingd the building, a frown began to from on his face.

[Priest of Crassius Gerald: Level 35]

Because of Gii's reputation with the Church of Crassius, the NPC's name was yellow. This meant there was a possibility of him becoming hostile if Gii interacted with him.

At least they don't recognize my face yet.

As his reputation with the church of Crassius continued to decline, he would eventually be marked as an enemy to be killed on site. However his current issue was the level of this priest in front of him. Gii had chosen Sufokia as his starting location because there would be 3 easily accessible altars of Crassius available to him as he traveled north. The first Altar had a high level paladin protecting it with a low level priest, not to mention it was in a remote location, so it was easy to avoid causing a big scene. He was able to easily lead the high level paladin away long enough to kill the priest and desecrate the altar.

This time was a little trickier however, as even though there wasn't a high level paladin protecting the church, the priest was too high of a level for his same surprise attack to work. There was also the fact that the priest would most likely have a basic healing spell or two at that level. Gii continued to ponder over his options when a surprising scene played out in front of his eyes.

He's locking up?

Gerald was currently in the process of locking up the front doors to the church after everyone had exited from the morning ceremonies. Gii reached into his memories to try and bring out the relevant information and eventually found what he was looking for.

Of course! He's going to judge criminals!

Gii had almost forgotten that one of the main duties of the priests of Crassius was to judge criminals and provide divine punishment if they were considered beyond redemption. Crassius was the God of Tempest and Divine Punishment after all! Law and order were one of the most basic teachings in their church.

This is my chance! I should have a small window of opportunity, the question now is how to go about it...

The priest would most likely be gone until the late afternoon when the next service for the church would be held. Gii would have to find a way to desecrate the altar in that time, but there were really only 2 primary ways of desecrating an altar. The first option was to do what he had done before, kill the priest and use their heart as a sacrifice to corrupt the holy water. The other way would be to do the same thing, but instead of using the priest's heart, you could use the heart of an innocent person. Although there were other ways Gii knew of, these two were the quickest and most efficient.

The priest isn't an option at this point, so I guess it's on to plan B...

Gii had spent some time refreshing his memory on the Beta especially for situations like this. There was always a number of different NPCs available in towns that would have a variety of different circumstances. What he needed now was to find one that would fit his need and that he could get to follow him into the church. Gii spent a few moments thinking through the options for NPCs available in Incarnum until he eventually settled on one.

He then began walking towards the nothern part of the city which was home to the barracks location where most of the soldiers and guards were housed. He craned his head to try look over the tops of the buildings that lined the roads and walkways until he spotted a looming figure towering over everything. This was the watchtower that looked over the district. While it was always manned, it was never truly needed unless the walls of the city were breached.

Confirming he was heading in the correct direction, Gii picked up his pace and followed the roads that led toward the base of the watchtower. Finally he rounded a corner and was able to see the base of the watchtower which currently had a single guard standing watch at the base of it. Checking his surroundings to confirm he was in the right location, he then made his way to one of the alleyways that branched off of the main thoroughfare.

Pretending not to pay attention to where he was going, he kicked one of the large boxes that were sitting just outside the alley. The box he knocked into made a loud scraping noise and suddenly a small shadow darted out from behind it and cowered in the alley. Gii looked up and confirmed that the small shadow was a child about the age of 10-11. He put his best apologetic smile on his face and then spoke to the boy.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. Are you ok?"

The small boy was covered in filth and seemed too nervous to actually respond to him. Gii didn't pay it any mind and continued talking. This time he brought out a piece of bread and offered it to him.

"You look hungry, here take this piece of bread as compensation."

The boy was hesitant but eventually caved and took the bread and ate it ravenously. Gii watched him scoff down the pieces of bread and then continued to speak in concern.

"You seem injured? do you want me to bring you to the church to get healed?"

The boy seemed to lose some of his wariness now and actually responded by shaking his head.

"No money."

Gii listened to the small voice that escaped the boy's mouth and then answered back.

"No money? That's not a problem, I'll pay to have you healed. It can be my good deed for the day."

Gii wauited for a minute without getting any response. He shrugged his shoulders and then began walking away from the boy. When he got a dozen feet down the road he turned around to notice that the small boy was following him and then suddenly a quest notification popped up

A New Follower?

You have encountered a strange child on the streets of Incarnum. Could they be lost? Are they abandoned? Nothing is known but they seem to be attached enough to you to follow you around the city. Perhaps there is someone better suited to helping this child...

Quest Reward: Varies

Accept?

> >

Gii immediately clicked on the yes button and continued walking on his way, ocassionally looking back to make sure the child was still following him. He knew that this child was one of the hidden quests that was available in Incarnum. The normal solution would be to take him to an orphanage or a church and have them take him in. The player would then be rewarded with contribution points or Damas depending on where you brought them.

The child continued following him all the way back to the church of Crassius. He walked around to the side of the church until he eventually came upon a small wooden door. He knew that this door was usually unlocked because it was where the servants that worked for the church would enter and exit from. Gii listened to make sure there was no one on the other side of the door and then motioned for the child to follow him over.

Sure enough, the small boy hesitated but eventually scampered over and followed Gii into the building. Gii pressed his index finger to his lips and then whispered to the boy.

"The priest is out right now so we have to be quiet alright? We are just going to borrow some medicine from them."

The boy nodded in understanding and continued to follow Gii as he made his way out of the cramped quarters and up the stairs to his left. As they reached the top of the stairs, they were now right behind the "main stage" that had the main altar and area of operation for the priest. Gii motioned for the boy to sit on the altar as he reached underneath and grabbed the glass flask of Holy Water.

You have acquired 1x Glass Flask of Holy Water (12oz)

The boy, not suspecting anything, sat with his feet dangling off of the altar as he looked around in wonder. Gii hardened his reolve as he gripped the hilt of his dagger with more force. Quickly, so as not to have to think about it, Gii stabbed upward at full force with the dagger until it met with a dull thud and lodged itself into the boys throat.

[Critical Hit!]

[-35]

Then, while ignoring the boy reaching at his face, he ruthlessly pulled the dagger out and continued to stab him relentlessly until a series of notifications popped up in front of him.

Quest Failed: A New Follower? You have slain an innocent child! Karma: -200

Gii quickly got to work hacking away at the boy's chest until he was able to get the heart out. He poured a portion of the holy water into a silver chalice and then squeezed the blood from the boy's heart into it. The clear liquid slowly turned into a murky black ichor which Gii then promptly threw directly on the altar and splashed the remainder of it on the large statue of Crassius behind the altar.

You have Desecrated a Temple to Crassius!

Reputation with the Church of Crassius : -1000

Karma: -500

You have incurred the wrath of the Divine God of Punishment Crassius!

The Cursed Status "Torment of Crassius" has been strengthened

Confirming that his goal was completed, he immediately headed toward the staircase to head out of the building. He rummaged around in the storage looking for an extra set of servants clothes to put on. He hastily put the clothes on as his mind raced with adreneline.

Dammit, why didnt I think of the escape plan before I did the deed? I was too hasty..

Gii quickly exited the building through the side entrance and wrapped around the back of the building. However as he was rounding the corner, he nearly bumped into someone. It only took a moment for Gii to realize that it was one of the servants that worked in the temple, a plump brown haired middle aged woman. She was about to say something but then she looked down and noticed the faint blood stains on his hands. Reacting as quickly as possible, Gii ran into the street and started running as fast as he could toward the Gate at the center of town. He could hear a voice call out from behind him.

"Hey stop! Are you hurt!?"

Gii ignored her and continued sprinting through the city. Although it wasn't too uncommon to see players running frantically throughout the town like Gii currently was, that didn't mean it didn't attract attention. Most players would give a curious glance but then continue about their day. The NPCs might show more confusion but generally were more focused on whatever tasks they were in the middle of. There were a few that began to call out in concern, but Gii quickly ran past them while ignoring their calls. After what seemed like an eternity, Gii finally was able to reach the center plaza with the Gate.

He ran up and touched it's surface and with a flash of blue light he was engulfed and teleported away.