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Click here"That actually works?" Nuru said.
"For a little while... long enough. I don't have the juice to animate them enough to move like a real puppet for any length of time, unless they're mostly intact already. Not just for kicks, anyway."
"And you ask them first?"
"Oh yeah, we have a little chat, like I said. I ask them if there's anything I can do for them before they go. Most times they're too scared, even facing death, to do any more than kiss. But a few want as much as I can give them in the last stage of their life. I consider it an honor."
"Don't some of them send messages to loved ones?" Nuru said. "That's what the acolytes do, right?"
"Sure, I do. And yes, acolytes of any of the twelve gods do that, it's the sacred duty and the Daily Quest for every paladin."
"Twelve gods? I thought there were six."
"Six for the High Factions, six for the Low."
"How come I've never heard of these Low Factions?"
"Oh, you have, they just call it something else. Chaos Factions, among other things. Stupid name, you can't have an organization based on chaos, by definition. But that's the High Falutin Factions logic for you, constantly missing the point," Dayo said.
"Don't get her started on that. She's usually quiet but she'll rant for days about politics," Mesi said.
Dayo skewered her with a glare. "You're one to talk, about talking a lot."
"Wait. So you can only join one faction, and you can't leave through the main gate. How do you join a... Low Faction?" Nuru said.
"Oh, it's not hard," Mesi said. "All these quests around, they give you a clear objective. Retrieve the Sacred Widget. Recover the Magic Doodad. Slay the evil Whatsisface. You know how it goes."
"Sure," Nuru said.
"All you've got to do is stray from the path," Mesi said. "Just explore - maybe give up the quest reward to the Dungeon Boss. I mean you don't normally just fall in a hole and land in Low Faction territory, you've got to make some kind of choice. But defy the order of things, and soon enough you find another way to complete the quest, and it points you in a new direction. Before you know it, there you are."
"Something like... making a pact with a demon," Dayo suggested, giving Nuru a piercing stare.
"Well, uh... hmm. Interesting. I guess I'm not the first to rebel against the system."
"No, although I must say, that kind of thing usually happens at a MUCH higher level. Keep an eye out for those paladins, they'll PvP the shit out of a Level Two for taking a pact with a demon. And that would be such a waste."
Mesi broke away and started walking back to town. "You know, this is super fascinating, but I have to get back to work. See you later, Nuru! Love you, Dayo!"
Dayo waved to her and blew a kiss. "So. I'd better be going too. Got some things to take care of, and then a quota to fill. Good meeting ya."
"Hey do you... wanna adventure tomorrow?" Nuru said impulsively.
"What? Travel with you? What kinda quest you on?"
"Haven't got one. Considering my options. Seems to me you've got a lot of things I'd like to know. I'd be traveling with you, more like."
"Don't be expecting another porn show. I respect the privacy of my clients."
"No, no, nothing like that. I just have so many questions."
"Alright. Meet me back at the hut at... oh, about this time tomorrow. Certainly no sooner. I might even be late, I just got up early today so I could catch Mesi on her break if she brought you over."
"Late riser?" Nuru said.
"Not a morning person. Also, I can't go harvesting souls if they haven't had a chance to die yet. But I can't wait too late and let the ghouls eat them either."
"Right. See you then."
- COMMENTS
Anonymous10 months agoThere is a lot that I do not comprehend.
The plot is not clear.
The game issues are not clear.
So the protagonist was level 1 and now is level 2. How come? What does it mean?
Why do things happen?
What are the motivations, considerations and emotions of the protagonist and of the people he interacts with?
The story is like a jigsaw puzzle with lots of pieces missing.
Anonymousalmost 2 years agoThe only real thing that's bugging me is the dialogue. It isn't always clear who's talking.
SunsetFollower511about 2 years agoAuthorIt's true, I may have pawned off my own difficulty with the non-binary pronouns onto various characters. I worked hard on this and I think I got better in later sections.
Anonymousalmost 3 years agoI like the story so far, and I know that this is still an early chapter, but I'm kinda disappointed you didn't let Dayo be They/ them. Just seems inconsiderate to them. Other than that I'm liking the story.
Anonymousover 3 years agoI am getting such a kick out of this. While so many of the stories, books, movies are focused on one goal or one topic, this is a very interesting take on looking at all the D&D world and its rules. Great characters you made and it is wild the way you have them interact with each other considering all the NPCs and different classes, factions, alignments and such. Thanks for taking all the time to come up with all this.
J.D.
abiostudent3almost 4 years agoDamn. I want more of this, rather desperately.
I love what you're building here, keep it up!
jpz007ahrenalmost 4 years agoOf course, of course. The Rules would have this covered as well. Not a limitless amount of options, but probably enough for most. And the ones it doesn't quite fit perfectly, well, I suppose they have to see about making something of themselves and try and change those circumstances. I wonder what sort of thing Dayo could do or learn with access to a properly fed wight? As he's learning, getting Exp isn't all about finding the glowing markers, and fighting off 'the baddies'. There's more to it than that, and if there's training and specialties... I imagine they could have a bit of practice and stretch some of their mystical muscles such as it were. And if you can get stronger or better with a weapon by wielding it, the same logic certainly seems plausible for mastering one's abilities.
So excited for his choice of perk. Passive skills are so much fun, and in general I'd prefer to have access to a larger number of typically weaker passives, than having a host of expensive/ only so many uses per day kind of flashy abilities. Passives are always working, so if you build yourself the way you want, you can take fewer active abilities to handle the situations you want them too. And you don't have to worry about making sure you're using them optimally, because you always get to use them. ^.^ Though I'll admit/warn that you may have made it a bit harder on yourself with his selection. Wonderful though it is, it does mean you may need to have some more mystery elements later on, because if he gets himself into a situation that he should be able to get himself out of, but he 'forgets', well then... can't have that now can we? Not in The Rules as it were, though whose to say whether situation A5 is similar enough to situation A5& that the same thing would work. Well, only the GM of course (Some prefer the term author, but that's a case by case sort of thing you know) ^.^
But I ramble on. Thank you for another lovely chapter and a fantastic continuation to this fascinating story. Very interested in learning how he makes up with Adana. Sure she called them even, but in truth I think he'd prefer to better balance the scales. Though I'm sure should he last long enough he'll forge a wonderful business partnership with her. And maybe something a bit more... intimate? >.> Hmmm... But that's not a here nor there sort of thing. It may come, or it may not. Thank you again! And of course the necromancer is lovely. Whether it had already been written and I merely spoke a prophetic desire, or there was some slight inspiration, in either or any other case, I greatly enjoyed getting to meet Dayo, and hope like Nuru to get to know them better and see more of their life. They seem a wonderful sort, and lucky to have found love already in a feisty lass. So long as our nascent party can avoid more of those 'tragic backstory' flags, I'm sure they'll have a wonderful adventure!
