Demonic Magician

I paused and looked at the Fighter. Quinn and Ruby had also turned to observe her entrance and pointed question. Wasn’t too sure what she had actually asked. Surely she didn’t mean Ren again? Not with the goblin present?

My mouth opened and closed, but all I could manage was a look of confusion.

Her expression dulled. “You said you killed Velkos? Guy with the chainswords?”

“Oh, yes.” Relief and understanding flooded through me. She just wanted to discuss the man I had murdered, rather than explain the nuance of how I won over Ren. It wasn’t troubling at all that I found that the easier option to talk about.

Fiona crossed her arms and waited for me to drip out the details. He obviously left his mark on her in more ways than one. I took a deep breath.

“He was in the fort. Dueled him for a bit and poisoned his arm with some Witch’s potion.”

Ruby tilted her head, looking like she had some questions there but didn’t want to interrupt.

“The poison caused his arm to be inert, so he had to cut it off. While he was distracted, I put an attack through his back and heart.” I left out the part about taking his weapon to bisect one of the other combatants. It sounded a lot worse the further from the act I had grown.

The fighter grunted. “Would have liked him to suffer more, but I believe the story. Although, you dueled him without taking damage?”

“Ah.” I grimaced. “I am rather evasive if given the chance. But… could I ask what happened to make him…” I gestured to her scars in the most polite manner I could muster - which was not at all.

Her eyes narrowed, before she softened and seemed tired. “Something stupid, believe me. We Partied briefly, but had an argument. Somehow, we agreed that a duel would settle matters.” Fiona shuffled uncomfortably. “He took it a lot more seriously than intended.”

“Duels are a great way to be humbled,” Quinn agreed, before turning his head away from her glare.

I took down my top hat to place beside me. “It’s no wonder he joined the Lady. Sounds like he was an asshole.”

Fiona looked as though she was going to give a sarcastic response, but instead she sighed and let her arms relax. “Yeah. System is full of them, myself included.” She held a hand out to be shaken. “I’m not sure I trust you fully still, but you have my thanks for killing that fuck.”

I extended my own, and we shook. “I understand your trepidation and will do my best to be an asset to the camp.”

“Eh, just don’t be a weird ass.” She shook her head. “We’ll talk more in the morning with everyone present, but I just wanted to give you a heads up. We’ve had a message back from Candlekeep up in the northwest.”

That was the town Hadrian had said the Lady intended on getting to next.

“It sounds like they’ve rebuffed the Lady’s attempt at a takeover there. They said…” She screwed her face up. “She had been growing in strength up until the last couple of days, and she’s been weaker?” Fiona shrugged. “As accurate as that is.”

I nodded slowly. That gave me something to think about.

“Well, I’ll be off. Rest well. I’m sure tomorrow will be a long day.” She gave Quinn and I a nod, before shooting the goblin a brief soft smile, and then she left.

My brow furrowed as we fell into silence. Why would the Lady have gotten weaker? The answer was right in front of me; I was sure of it. Her impossibly quick ascension through the areas and then… running out of steam. I raised an eyebrow at Ruby, who had been patiently waiting for me to pay attention so that she could ask me a question.

“You fought the witches?” Her eyes twinkled with interest.

“We did, yes. Did you?”

She shook her head. “Looked fun, but dangerous. We heard some other group lost a couple of members in there.”

I raised an eyebrow. It would be unfair to say we had found it… easy. But it had been. Just how far ahead of the curve were we? “It was a coven of three, some decent loot.”

“I’m envious. We played things pretty safe.” She idly tapped a finger on a glass container. “Not that I’m complaining about being alive, ya know?”

It made me wonder - if the Lady in Red had come through when they were leveling in the first area... would they be dead or converted? I shuddered to think that they could have fallen - but then again; they hadn’t now, so perhaps they were fine.

I watched as the goblin wiped a different color goop on the fencer’s face. “Are you happy here, Ruby?”

She raised an eyebrow, pausing the application of whatever medicine Quinn had earned. “Happy? Hmm. With Fiona? Yeah. With the camp? Eh. With the System? We make do the best we can, ya know?”

“Yeah, I know.” I nodded along. Replace Fiona with Ren and that was mostly my thoughts, too. “System isn’t great, but we’re trying to keep it stable.”

She grunted and continued to slather the foul-smelling mixture over Quinn’s nose and around his bruised eyes. “I had an okay life in the old world. Some that come here are trying to escape from bad situations. ‘Spose I just… help people wherever I go.”

It cooled my mood that people were rather nuanced once you spent five minutes not considering killing them. At this rate, I’d find out that Clive was a reasonable chap, and we’d become fast friends. I grimaced at the thought. Over his dead body, the normal bastard.

“No head-goop for you, Max. The bruising isn’t too bad. Just avoid hitting your head on things for a couple of days.” She gave me a grin as she cleaned her hands off.

“Ah,” I gave her a short bow. “You don’t know what impossibilities you ask of me.”

“Well, just don’t die.” She gave Quinn a pat on the leg. “Ain’t no goop that can bring you back from the dead. I think. Fuck knows, really.” Ruby shrugged. “You’re both free to go. Hopefully, a brighter day tomorrow, ay?”

“Hope screams eternal.” I smiled and picked up my hat, leading the quiet fencer into the gloom of early evening.

“It’s been quite the day, Max,” he turned to me and said, without hint of anything but earnest exhaustion.

I stepped a little further away because the goop wasn’t pleasant. “I’ll say. Lots to do tomorrow, as well.”

“Then good night to you. I hope the others rest well.” He gave me a bow and walked off toward his tent.

I stepped through the darkened maze of other tents to find that Wolf was outside our designated one. Ren must have finished already. The bear gave me a grunt and shuffled to the side to allow me entrance, but seemed more interested in getting some sleep than giving me a verbal update.

Lantern was on low as I entered to find the elf already under the covers. We had managed to make the approximation of a double-bed with our bedrolls and blankets, which was a nice sight to come home to. “How was it?” I asked quietly.

“Cold as fuck.” She pulled a face.

I put my hat down and laid beside her. She did look cold, but at least reasonably clean. Her hand came out and pulled my face forward and I received the kiss earned for surviving the day. It was a long thing, a soft conversation gone unsaid, before she eventually pulled away.

“That’s all you get. I’m not sold on the privacy we have here.” She pressed a finger against my nose to move me further back. “Plus, you stink. I left enough in the shower for you.”

“My savior,” I said, with a grin. “Oh! That reminds me.”

I stood, stooped slightly at the low apex of the tent, and began to disrobe. Ren glared at me with a furrowed brow, which only increased as I got completely bare.

“I’m all for a performance,” she said in a loud whisper, “but what are you doing?”

“Hmm?” My eyes went around my menus and Equipment screens, trying to find the option. No, it seemed as though it didn’t work for me as it did with Wolf. I turned to her and put my hands on my hips. “Well, Ren Moonflower. I’m trying to break the System, as usual.”

“Moonflower.” Her face screwed up, before her expression relaxed. “Well, I don’t hate that, as far as pet names go, but… how about you act normal for once, Max Dickbag?”

I snorted and shook my head before grabbing up my clothes. “Maybe the best compliment I’ve ever had.”

She groaned, not intending it the way I had taken it. “Just… hurry back, okay? There’s only so much night before I will fall asleep.”

It was perhaps the briefest and worst shower I had ever had in my life. With the promise of some heart-to-heart time with Ren, I wanted to rush the process. The fact that the night air was a brisk chill to it, and the small amount of shower water was practically ice cold, did little to bring me comfort. Certainly woke me up, but the wrong time of day to be alert. My suit kept me warm enough for my return trip through the dozens of tents.

A few were lit by low lanterns. The occasional murmur of conversation coming from a couple. Near the back was a small campfire with two figures sitting, although I couldn’t see from here who they were exactly. Back to the tent, I nudged the bear aside to squeeze back in.

Thankfully, she was still awake.

Into my sleepwear and I got under the blankets beside her. “You were right,” I said, “the temperature of that water was criminal.”

“Right?” She turned over to face away from me and then shuffled back against me to spoon. “Better share body heat so we don’t die.”

I put my arm around her, receiving a healthy amount of hair in my face. “What does your heart say tonight, moonflower?”

She put her hand on mine and squeezed it. “I’m still on edge, knowing that danger is coming.”

“We’ll get through it. Fiona mentioned that the Lady might be weakening.”

“Really?” Her fingers tapped on mine. “You know why?”

“I have an idea.” I moved my mouth up to her pointed ear and whispered. “She gets more power the more followers she has.”

Ren was silent for a moment as she considered it. “And we’ve been killing a lot of them, right?”

I nodded. “Mhm.” It was one of the few explanations that made this all make sense. There wasn’t any way we could know for certain, but if she was destined to be some kind of cult leader - then believers making her stronger would tie together her speedy ascension through the areas. She had lucked out in having soft minds to convert in the first area, but after we had taken down the fort and started gnawing on the second area baddies, we had set her back.

“I’d like that to be the case,” the elf eventually said. “It makes everything we’ve done even more worth the pain.”

“One day there won’t be so much struggle.” I leaned in and kissed the back of her head. “Just you and me, Ren, and anyone else that we can drag along for the ride.”

Her hand squeezed mine. “Call me moonflower again.”

I smiled. “Moonflower.”

She sighed and pulled my arm in close against her. I waited for any further conversation, but none came. She had fallen asleep, and I didn’t blame her after the day we had endured. While my own eyes were getting ready to drift off, I made the effort to check over my Stats quickly - and regretfully put off the Chance Boxes until the morning. Such a shame.

[Stats]

Strength - 8

Constitution - 9

Agility - 8

Dexterity - 27 (19+8)

Intelligence - 40 (19+21)

Wisdom - 10 (8+2)

Luck - 14

Given that my damage was reliant on my Intelligence Stat, it seemed to be a good idea to stack my gear toward that. Dexterity had fallen behind a little, but other than my crossbow usage, it shouldn’t affect too much. already pulled enough weight when it came to manipulating my System Inventory and items.

I yawned and partially considered going through the boxes to see if I could replace some of the remaining area one gear I still wore. Going through my Inventory, it seemed as though I had accumulated twenty-two of the blasted things. Eighty-three feathers as well, which I’d have to remember to give to Wolf tomorrow.

So, I could lay here and put myself to sleep as information box after information box filtered through my vision… or I could just enjoy being here with Ren and fall asleep in her warmth. I went with my heart in the end, making the most of how close we had grown.

In fact, those thoughts punctuated my dreams. Or at least, I thought they did.

I awoke in darkness. The vision of Ren and I out on a date on a pier near the beautiful ocean sinking away from my brain just as soon as the sounds of shouting struck my senses.

Yells and flashing lights in the darkness. Ren awoke in a confused state beside me as we tried to gain our composure and prepare ourselves for whatever was going on. As if on cue, the deep voice of the bear silhouetted against our tent entrance rose over all else.

“We’re being attacked,” Wolf growled from just outside.