The place certainly wasn’t a metropolis. It was situated on a gently sloping hill with a sea of black and gray slate roofs only occasionally marred by an outlier or what appeared to be a town square.
From our perch on a nearby hillside it wasn’t hard to pick out what must be the noble’s district. In addition to the outer wall the villas of the city’s nobles were surrounded by a second wall that I could occasionally see the glint of torches on.
Amidst the endless sea of dark slate roofs there was a cavalcade of brilliant blue and white light. People choked the streets of the city in great numbers. It seemed as if some kind of celebration or festival was filling the open streets of the poorer quarter.
Beside me Mystal's voice was sleepy as she yawned, “That was a nice nap.”
Glancing down at her I analyzed the mist creature.
Mist Hunter Level 30
Tier E
Weakness: Fire
Resistance: None
HP: 4500
MP: Unknown
Mist Army: The Mist Hunter can consume targets and reproduce them into able and competent defenders who have many of the skills of their previous lives.
Doppleganger: Mist Hunter can now vary its main form to take the shape of any target it observes. The Hunter also gains some of the abilities of the target.
"Well, welcome back sleepyhead," I nodded in the direction of the city, "tell me what you think of our target."
She rolled over and peered in the direction of the city. She sniffed with her eyes closed as if sampling the aroma of a particularly tantalizing pie and said, “I don’t know but it smells great.”
Grimacing at her statement, I muttered, “We can't get locked down with whatever is going on down there. We have to save Val as soon as we can. Maybe it will give us some insight into what Sevrin is up to if we look around. Can you use your disguise power to look like someone less important?"
"Oh, you know about that!?," she seemed genuinely surprised. After a moments thought tapping her chin she grinned at me, "I have just the disguise in mind."
Before my eyes her form shifted into an amorphous mist. It swirled around me in steady circles before picking up speed and flowing away and up into a humanoid shape. The figure started to solidify into a male Haithan with short dark hair and light purple skin as smooth as marble. They were wearing my armor but only carried the rapier that Mystal had already been carrying. The copy of my avatar looked back at me with a smirk and ran its hand down its body as it surveyed its form, “It’s a new power I got!”
She giggled and winked at me with my avatar’s face, “Read for the secret mission?"
“I'm not sure this is going to be as good a disguise as you think.”
“You’re such a mope!”
Looking up I spoke out loud into the dive room, “Lyd, what time is it?”
She answered with her typical jovial tone, “It’s one am sugar.”
With a grimace I shrugged away the slight fatigue I was feeling and muttered, “Turn on the coffee pot in the kitchen. We’re going a bit later.”
“Sure thing darlin.”
“Slums of Lothin
One of the last great cities of L’Chasse. Home to the High Ladies of the Haithan people and the current base of the Immolated Order
HUB: Level 1-100”
While a significant wall had been erected to protect the poorer districts of Lothin we found it poorly defended. We found a single male guard in a state of giggling inebriation at his post. He was of advanced age with a long white braid that reached his waist, a heavy lined and weathered face and a wiry physique. In addition his clothing was disheveled, with his breeches half off exposing his naked nethers. His eyes were hazy and despite attempts to speak with him he would only coo and giggle before muttering some variation of the same nonsense.
“Can you feel the warmth?”
The state of the 'festival' and the fate of the unfortunate villagers would only become more disturbing the more we moved through the crowded streets of Lothin's slums. Everywhere we went there were people in states of fear and panic. Above it all there was a constant voice, Sevrin's voice. I got the sense that it was somehow recorded and set to repeat the terrible message to the unfortunate Haithans.
“Hark to all able servants of Lothin and L’Chasse,
We live in dire times and dire times call for untold measures. The Remnant hordes wait on our doorstep with an army of the undying.
Internally, I growled, "There is no fucking army of Remnants. They've all vanished."
They eagerly want to turn you and your whole family to their army of the unliving. If nothing is done L'Chasse and what remains of your world will be lost in a wave of immortal undead attackers.
The Lady of Flame has provided an answer and your noble leaders ask that all male Haithans lay down their lives to save your world from destruction!
Men of L'Chasse; eat, drink and love to assure that the next generation of L'Chasse follows your sacrifice. Imbibe the flaming herb and accept the Lady of Flame's brand! Join an army that can defeat the Remnants.
Great and noble Ladies of L'Chasse, bear the next generation to save your species.
If you are younger than your 18th rev seek a member of the Immolated Order to discuss your future.
Around us, the festival was truly an orgy of chaos. Everywhere I looked in the streets Haithans under the effects we had seen on the guard at the wall stumbled to haphazardly laid out bedrolls or the very stone streets themselves with women who would welcome them. Those men who refused were dragged away to great diases to join others who lined up to receive the Brand. Great stockyards that had once contained beasts were now full of milling branded monstrosities.
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Children wailed as they were dragged away toward an Immolated Order's camp to the south. It turned out that we need not disguise ourselves. On this day, none of the Haithan people were concerned with a pair of twin infiltrators. Despite Mystal's pleading look, I lead the way toward the walls surrounding the Noble's District, the last lines of Sevrin's recording echoing in my ears.
L'Chasse will rise again!
So sayeth the High Ladies of Lothin.
So sayeth High Inquisitor Sevrin.
So sayeth the Lady of Flame.”
Most guards were much lower level than us and when we encountered them without danger of being discovered, we cut them down. In many cases the drugged Haithans still tried to initiate their dark acts and after trying to help the first few we left them there in the street.
Mystal’s earlier wonder and eagerness to understand the rituals amidst the Lothinites had vanished. When I looked at her I saw blank disgust on my own face.
We found a site where it appeared the branding had been occurring and after viewing the horrors of the hopeless city I rasped, “I’m worried about Valerie.”
My own form looked back at me and she nodded sharply, “We should find her. She is a noble lady, so… she’ll be fine right?”
"Lets go," I replied before turning away from the scenes of debauchery and defeat behind us and hurrying toward the distant walls of the noble district.
This time I didn’t ruminate over how a game could be like this.
I didn’t think about how they hoped to sell this to anyone.
This strange world had become more real to me than my own.
Was it a nightmare? Yes.
However, it was a nightmare I could be certain of unlike the vision filled prison that was the world outside.
Ultimately, the patrolling guards and their drugged charges were no match for our stealth, and before long we were crouched in the shadow of a two story stone building watching a guard in the black tabard of the cult pace by on the crenelated wall. It appeared that there were four guards on patrol and each of the five towers that surrounded the district had at least two guards on watch at their apex.
Studying the heights and the guard defenses I started to develop a plan.
“Alright, you remember how I told you to never put people to sleep and mimic them again?,” I whispered as I turned to Mystal.
Her face... my face, was bright and hopeful as I answered my own question, “You are going to run a distraction on these guards on the wall while I take them out.”
She looked toward the many guards patrolling the wall and whispered, “Can I eat them?”
Grimacing, I nodded and said, “It’s time for the buffet Mystal.”
She gave an ecstatic little clap in my avatar’s form and I shook my head.
“Lothin Noble District
Den of the decadent nobles of Lothin and the current base of the Immolated Order.
Warning: You are not in a Raid Group.
10 Man Raid: Tier E, Level 35-40”
Surveying the dark and towering walls Lydia’s message gave me pause. Normally I would never decide to tackle a Raid area with only a single NPC helper. Many years ago I’d tackled low level raids with my Archmage in EO because my power level far outstripped the difficulty but this content would be an insane challenge. Glancing at the super eager mist creature at my side I shrugged and chuckled, “Why not?”
What followed over the next hour was not what I intended when I braved that ancient facility to garner so much power. I mostly remained hidden while Mystal put one of the patrolling guards to sleep and approached one of their allies to greet them with a friendly smile in the guise of the sleeping cultist. This all set me up to slip in and eviscerate the distracted guard in silence.
Mystal would occasionally help in her guard guise and we methodically and silently used her mist to systematically eliminate all of the guards on the walls to the guard district. We killed the actively patrolling guards. We put down those who were sleeping away their time off in the occasional towers that dotted the black stone walls. We slit the throats of a pair of guards who had been playing a card game, that one was a bit challenging.
In the end there hadn’t been a single cry of alarm.
As we knelt next to one of the towers I reached up to wipe at my face, but the blood from the dead cultist beside me had long since absorbed into my skin. Dropping my blades back into my inventory I slumped down against the wall. Fatigue was getting to me, not from the game but the late hour.
Mystal, in the guise of a young female Haithan guard she had used throughout the assault, put a gentle hand on my shoulder and smiled, “You ok?”
I gave her a lopsided and very tired smile and gave a small nod, “I’ll be ok. I have to,” I searched for the proper term but just said, “sit here and rest for a moment. Can you watch over me?”
She beamed me a smile and nodded. We ducked into the tower and I slumped into a corner next to a bunk. Glancing up I saw Mystal splitting into multiple guard drones who then started to range out of the doors to the tower. When I felt I was well in shadow I pulled off my helmet into the blood red glow of the dive room.
I shook off the fatigue and slapped myself in the cheek.
Looking up toward the monitors I rasped, “Lydia, I’m headed up. Is that coffee still hot?”
She answered cheerily, “Of course, Mal.”
Unclipping myself from the dive chair I swung my legs out before shuffling up the stairs and into the kitchen. I saw a small white note standing out on the kitchen island and narrowed my eyes. Turning I looked back down into the dive room and saw that the envelope was still there. I shook off the strange feeling that gave me…
What was in the envelope?
Was that the first time I’d even considered that?
Why was it…
I began to ask Lydia…
Blinking, I shook my head as I said, “It can wait, gotta save Valerie,” before turning back to the island and opening the small note.
“Malcolm,
I cleaned up everything that Lydia had on her list. I’ll be back next Tuesday.
Good luck in the game!
Olivia
P.S: Sorry about your friend.”
Rubbing my eyes, I cleared my throat, “What friend?”
Considering it for a moment I said, “Lydia, any idea what friend Olivia is talking about in this note?”
“No idea, Mal,” she said without a beat.
What the fuck is going on?
Sighing I set the note on the counter before making my way to the coffee maker and quickly making myself a rather large mug.
Minutes later, I was heading down to the dive room with the mug in hand.
Tugging the helmet back on and my avatar twitched to life back in the mist filled tower bunkroom. Mystal stood over me and gave a small wave as I returned to life. Cracking a smile I said, “I want you and your drone guards to range out over the wall and continue patrols. If any more cultists try to enter, wipe them out and eat them. Do you think you can handle that?”
She winked, “Definitely.”
Holding up a thin card sized slate card I said, “This is a sonic trap. If you are found out, set it off and I’ll come back.”
As I handed her the ward I said, “If you or your guards see the guards mobilizing inside the walls I want you to wait at least an hour before coming to join us. Chances are someone will either try and come to their aid or they will try and escape to get reinforcements. We need you to cut them off.”
She took it and nodded as she asked, “Are you going to be ok by yourself?”
I winked, “Of course.”
She grinned at me and leaned down, pressing a kiss to my forehead. I gave her a surprised look and she giggled as she slipped the slate card into her pouch and headed out to patrol the wall. I watched the strange mist creature walk away and groaned as I stood.
What kinda crazy person tries to solo a quest meant for a whole group?
A lopsided grin crossed my sleep deprived face as I muttered to no one, “Malcolm ‘Fucking’ Voss, that’s who.”
Ascending quickly to the roof I finally took a look at the gauntlet I was facing.
“Going at this solo,” I growled to myself as I ran my hands through my avatar’s thick dark hair, “really Mal?”
Checking my messages for the tenth time I saw no responses from any of my friends, the Japanese police or Catacomb, “Yep, it’s looking like a solo run, but… people are counting on me.”
