Timeline: 2 Days until Astraea, 19:44

I awoke to the smell of sweet tobacco lingering on the air. I found myself resting in a small building, not the inn room, but a living area. It was lavishly decorated with rugs, fine furniture, and decorative, hung oil lamps. Across the way, I saw Ina sitting at a small bench, her arms resting on the bottom of an open window. She had her pipe in one hand, the smoke from it created a sort of mystical appearance about her.

“You survived, is good.” The words croaked out of my throat as though I had swallowed a beast of some kind, likely a toad, or maybe a tortoise. I attempted to rise from where I was lying, but everything was in pain. She let a gentle chuckle slip from her as she took another pull from her pipe. The cherry-flame in the bowl lit her face in a pleasant light.

“Of course I survived, I’m very hard to kill.” She stood, slowly, and the bandages on her chest and abdomen become violently apparent. They were still bloodied from her injury, though she didn’t show any kind of pain. She brought the pipe with her, and handed it to me. “Here, I’ve laced it with Skullcap, it will help to ease the pain.”

“You are herbalist?” I should have known, since she lived with the villagers in Val’Fore for so long, and there was a rather large forest nearby. It didn’t matter, really. I was thankful for the tobacco, so I took a few drags. It tasted of earth, and had a dry afterburn. It was almost too much for me, even with my years upon years of smoking experience. “Ah, is good.” I lied.

“It was an old trick I picked up years ago from the previous village elder in Val’Fore. He was a good man, and an excellent herbalist.” She took the pipe back from my outstretched hand, and tamped it on a small wooden bedside table. Ina stowed the pipe and then took a moment to help me up. I groaned and struggled to get seated, then tested my limbs as I stood slowly.

“Thank you for help. I was worried, you know.” I didn’t want to talk about what I felt, I just wanted to let it go. But something was driving me forward, like a giant meteor, hurtling through space.

“Oh, with Conrad?” Ina turned to me and smiled a bit, she stepped to the side and stopped. ”There was a history there, we had once been lovers. But that was an eternity ago, and our minds were clouded with the stupidity of youth.”

“Yes, and all this.” I waved a hand at her person in general. I was concerned I would lose her again.

“Vlad, I am fine, everything that happened has been healed. You’re not going to lose me to someone as worthless as Conrad. I had hoped you’d figured that out by now. Enough lollygagging, we need to get going, we’re missing the feast.” Ina pushed open the door to the house, and I was suddenly struck by exceedingly bright light. There was a massive bonfire in the middle of the village, people were dancing like maniacs around it, others were clanging cups and laughing.

“What is feast for?” My mind was shifting gears, and my thoughts were back on the noise outside. I was confused as to why they would be holding a feast, let alone a massive one.

“What do you mean? It’s to celebrate! We beat the bandits, and they’re not coming back. Ever. Which is, in and of itself, a great reason to celebrate.” Ina took my hand and gently pulled on it. “Well, come on then. The food isn’t going to eat itself!” I left the house, Ina pulling my hand along, and before I knew it she had entwined her fingers with mine. Well, that was a surprise. It only took a moment for someone to holler that we had arrived, and there was an overly loud cheer. One person shouted something about us being the “saviours of Cressfal,” which clearly wasn’t true. If anyone was the responsible party, it was obviously the hunters who were so capable with a little bit of help. There was an older gentleman heading our way, it was hard to see who it was in the darkness, backlit by the fire.

“Ah, the heroes awaken.” It was the elder, he was looking in much finer spirits. “It is good that you have come to celebrate. We are not just celebrating the victory, we are celebrating a new beginning.” He placed a hand on the side of my face, and I felt power thrum from under his palm. He smiled as he turned about, heading back to the crowd of people by the fireside. I couldn’t be sure, but the smile he had when he turned looked sad somehow, as though there were things left unsaid. Far be it from me, though, to know what lies in the heart of a man whose family was just destroyed.

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Quest Update: In the nick of Time

You have completed the quest “In the nick of Time!” The bandits retreated, and the leader of the bandits was dispatched permanently. There were minimal losses within the hunters of the village, and the entire village now has you to thank for their continued freedom! You have received 3,500 EXP, and your reputation with the villagers of Val’Fore has increased to Honored, your reputation with the villagers of Cressfal has increased to Respected! Your Unique reward was given to you by the village elder, as an “Awakening.” Every “Awakening” is different, and has an unexpected impact on the individual for whom it is bestowed.

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Level Up X4!

You have gained 20 attribute points!

You have gained 4 Proficiency Points!

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I immediately dumped 10 stat points into Intellect, then 3 into Vitality, 5 into Spirit, and 2 into Constitution. I held off on my Proficiency Points for now, I had collected a rather large number of them.

“What was that all about?” Ina’s voice was, for the first time ever, suspicious.

“Have no idea.” I felt something change within me, but I wasn’t sure what it was, until I saw a green indicator on the edge of my vision. I focused on it, and was shocked at what came up.

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Class Skill Unlocked!

You have unlocked the Job Class* of Engineer!

Engineer is a class which benefits all around them by improving and modifying equipment. They can also manufacture traps, and engineer weapons. The class kit for Engineer places heavy emphasis on tactical advantages, eschewing melee and physical combat for more civilized forms. As an engineer, you will be responsible for the technological advancement of the entire nation of Eldgard. No pressure!

Job restrictions:

Ranged weapons/Engineered Weapons preferred, melee weapons and skills will suffer a debilitating reduction in effectiveness

Light armor preferred, heavier armor will reduce skill effectiveness, and will reduce efficiency in creating engineered products.

+20% to materials harvested from gathering sources

+30% improvement in ranged and engineered weapon accuracy

+15% in speed to produce traps

+1% chance per point in Engineer tree to receive “Enlightenment”

Enlightenment grants you a blueprint for the item you have manufactured. Blueprints are tradable items that allow the knowledge of the great Engineers of Eldgard to be shared to anyone who has the skill and technical knowhow to read them.

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And as quickly as that, I had a job class. But what was that asterisk tagged onto the “Class” word? I focused on the asterisk, hoping for more information, when a new quest popped up.

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Quest Alert: Weaponizing The Alchemical

Having an innate knowledge of engineering, you understand that there are many specialities involved in manufacturing and developing engineered products. As a result, you have gleaned that there is a deeper class that you can unlock through the collection of a very specific book - The Arch-Alchemist’s Engineering Grimoire, which details the painstaking process of literally weaponizing alchemy.

Quest Class: Epic; Unique

Quest Difficulty: Infernal

Success: Recover the Arch-Alchemist’s Engineering Grimoire from the tunnels locked away for centuries below Rowanheath

Failure: The Grimoire is destroyed before you have a chance to read its contents

Reward: 5,000 EXP, new job class unlocked: Alchemic Weaponeer; class specific weapon

Accept: Yes/No?

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I knew there was no turning back when I saw that. Somehow, the bitch-turned-fate wanted me to follow the path I once took in life, now, in VGO. I accepted the quest with a stone-faced nod and a word.

“I have been given job, and quest for advanced job.” I stood there, mulling over the situation, very confused. What had the elder unlocked within me with his touch? Was this the reward from completing the quest he had offered before the bandits attacked?

“You’ve got a class!? That’s great, Vlad! I’m so excited for you!” Ina was so pleased for me that I couldn’t help but smile. Yes, sure, it was great. I had wanted to be a sorcerer.

“Is good, but is challenge. Quest is in Rowanheath, underground.” I looked anywhere I could, except at Ina. The fire was mesmerizing in the way it danced, the people were a joy to watch, but I felt Ina’s eyes watching me, and I didn’t want her to see my concern.

“We should take tonight, Vlad. We should enjoy it for everything it is worth, then tomorrow morning, we will head off to Rowanheath. It’s only a day’s journey from here, thereabouts.” Ina had, somehow, taken my hands in hers. She turned me around, slowly. The world slowed down to a crawl, everything else was suddenly no longer important. Our eyes met, and I knew that everything would be okay. It all would work out the way it was meant to, and I could feel that.

“Ina, do you dance?” It was a bold move, I had no idea how my body in VGO would react to dancing.

“Why yes, I do. Not well, though.” She rolled her eyes as we walked over to an open area, and we danced. We danced like maniacs, as though nothing mattered. We also ate, everything that was available was delicious and hearty. The crisp skin on the meat, the soft and juicy flesh of the fruit, everything was incredible. It was like I had never eaten anything in my life, and maybe that was just the point. After the party, Ina and I retired back to the inn room we had shared the night before. It was an emotional time, as we lie together, and we both let our emotions run hot. What started as a simple kiss led to much more, as we found ourselves in a tangle on the bed. It was my first sexual experience in a great many years, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Afterward, we laid in the bed and stories were told, of Ina’s life before me, and of mine before her. Laughs were shared, and tears were shed, as we reflected on our pasts, and the things we missed. Everything we experienced was real, and intense, and wonderful, and I never wanted it to end. But it had to end, because we had a journey ahead of us that would take us to Rowanheath, and it would deliver us to our fates.

My rest was not restful that night, as I was constantly plagued by dreams of death. Not solely mine, but all of my loved ones, in sequence, from start to finish. First I watched my mother die again, slowly, as she succumbed to early-onset dementia, and became someone who didn’t know any of us. She regularly referred to me as my father, when they had met. So, for the two years that my mother suffered from her failing mind and body, I was Dimitri, and my father was a stranger in our house. He said it was fine, it didn’t bother him that much, just to know that she remembered his name at all was enough. Towards the end of her illness, my father became increasingly depressed.

I dreamt of the evening I came home from my mother’s care facility late, my father had left hours before. I came home to none of the lights on, except for one of the bathroom lights, down the side hall. We hadn’t used the side hall since my sister had left for University and moved to America afterwards. I shouted for him, called his name, but there was no response aside from the buzzing of the vent fan in the ceiling. I knew something was wrong, so I rushed down the hallway, only to find a red glistening puddle at the entrance to the bathroom. It led to my father’s pale and rigoured body, his head was practically gone, the top half splattered against the bathroom walls. There was a shotgun locked in his hands. I screamed in horror, because it doesn’t matter how hard your life is, seeing your father’s corpse in front of you will destroy that confidence.

Suddenly I was in my mother’s care room, her nurses with her, the monitor beeping slowly as her heart rate was reduced to almost nothing. I watched the lucidity come to her eyes, as she looked at me for the last time. Her hand brushed mine, she grasped my fingers, and gave me a gentle smile. That was the last thing I saw before her eyes faded to a glossy haze, her heart stopping, the monitor alarming. The head nurse, knowing my mother had a DNR, or Do Not Resuscitate order, in place, reached over and flicked the power switch on the monitor. A doctor came in, I don’t remember his name, and checked his watch. He pronounced my mother dead, on April 22nd, at 14:35. I stood there, stock still, unsure of what to feel, or what to do. My eyes refused to blink, my soul refused to stop shaking. I stood there for an hour, maybe two, before I was ushered from the room. And then, when I had finally left her side, I cried. It hurt, everything was sharp stabbing pain inside. I had lost my father, and not even two weeks later, lost my mother.

Then I was standing in the entryway of my apartment, the one I had lived in while going to University. Bruno was over, he had grabbed the post while he was coming upstairs for me to help him with his studies. I had a letter postmarked from America, it was from my sister. She had run into trouble, and was trying to get out of a very bad situation. She had fallen in with some foolish people that were deep into drugs, and not just using, but selling, and running them. She said she had only one thing she had to do before she could be free, she had to run drugs across the ocean, as a mule, and into Russia. The letter had arrived nearly a month after it was postmarked, I had assumed she was in Russia by then. I tried to look her up, I contacted people I knew that would have connections, but I was too late. One of my contacts had found an obituary for her. She had been smuggling heroin rectally, and the assumption was that one of the bags had ruptured. She was killed of an opioid overdose, it wasn’t slow, but it wasn’t pleasant either. They had found her body after a prolonged stay in the airliner lavatory. By the time she was found, she was already gone. I remember Bruno being comforting in his own way, but the numbness I had felt was deeper than anything I can recall since.

The dream refused to stop there, though. I was standing by Ina’s bedside, watching them administer the “last” round of chemo, the IV drip was bright yellow in my mind, though I don’t remember it actually having a color to it. She smiled at me as the infusion started, then everything went to hell. I remember the way she actually died, and it was not like this. But the dream had a way of ripping the fabric of reality, and making things so much worse. Her body spasmed in agony as her chest exploded, a giant beast made of dripping gore and cancerous growths fought its way out, tearing through her body like it was waste paper. It was absolutely massive and terrifying, I backed up but was already against a wall. The lupine creature stared at me with its dead eyes, and jammed one of its clawed forelimbs into my face. I felt the skin, bone, and sinew tearing, shredding as I screamed. I watched this happen both from my own eyes, and as an observer at the same time. I heard my own screams become a gurgle, then watched as my body went limp.