It was no surprise to me when the rivers of Shadowmurk led directly to the Felshard of Hadaeon. I felt a moment of panic when suddenly the howling sound cut off and the street I was on fell eerily quiet. Then, at the next corner I turned and found myself at the town center. The shard had been placed atop a pedestal in a place of honor in the direct center of Goodlabor’s dried up fountain. A broken statue lay at its feet, undoubtedly the former occupant of the pedestal.
A tornado of purple mist swirled above the Fel shard fed by the rivers of Shadowmurk. Purple lightning flashed and crackled within the vortex. I could smell the ozone in the air mixed with the murk’s now familiar rotting scents. The citizens of Goodlabor were on their hands and knees prostrate before the pulsing shard.
Just like the Kobolds in the Dungeon…they worship it like a God!
I grit my teeth and my anger swelled. How easily humans are duped and led astray. Religions are never meant to be a leash for a person’s soul, but certainly it could be used to collar the wounded and broken minded. I saw one townswoman who instead of an arm, raised what looked like an insect’s claw towards the shard in desperate supplication. Everywhere I looked I saw mutations and mindless devotion. Standing atop what looked disturbingly like a gallows, stood Sneed. Leif, still wearing a sack over his head, loomed behind him. I ducked behind a building and watched. Despite the wind, I could hear Sneed’s voice. No longer sounding so high pitched, it was heavier and it echoed as if we stood in a cavern.
“Lord Xat demands an answer!” Sneed howled as he gazed out over the kneeling throng. Sneed’s head and body, which had already been pale and corpulent before, now seemed to have swelled to an even greater size. As I watched in horror his skull seemed to bloat like something was inside trying to get out. “He demands to know why the portal has failed! Why is he not yet among us? Why does his blessing not continue to spread over Aramyr as was foretold?”
Sneed paused and he turned to stare at the Shard, hypnotized by the storm swirling above it. I tried to come up with a plan of action. I knew why Sneed’s God wasn’t here, of course. Well, Xat wasn’t real that was the true answer, but I had destroyed the Limbus shard and the connection had failed. Apparently, Sneed didn’t know that and blamed it on the people of Goodlabor’s heretical shortcomings.
“Why didn’t it work? You must pray harder!” Sneed shouted. “You must sacrifice more! You must become more! The Abbey monks and their false Gods abandoned you. For years, we of Goodlabor suffered in our isolation from the rest of the world. It wasn’t until I discovered his gift…” He indicated the Fel shard with a wave of his bloated hand, “that Xat’s Truth was bestowed upon me. I am his Chosen One!”
Chosen nutcase.
It was time to take action. Time to test the power of the Gods against a cult of fanatics worshipping a false idol. With Lore Sight, it had been a simple act of will to activate the Fate skill and gain an exceptional amount of information on obscure topics. With Purgation, my eyes cast out over the Goodlabor Townsfolk and saw each of them highlighted in red. I looked closer at a man whose melted, sagging face stared enraptured up at the shard.
Name: Delbis Morplow
Level: ?
Profession: ?
Purgeable Ailment: Shadowmurk Mutation Level IV
Chance of Success: ??
Here was where I was paying the price for lacking Lore Sight. With the two Fate skills working in tandem, I would have had all the information I needed. As it was currently inactive, I was flying blind in that I would have to take a chance each time I tried to cure someone. Maybe it would work or maybe it wouldn’t.
I won’t know unless I try. Here we go, Delbis!
Initially I tried to focus the skill only on Delbis, but then I felt myself compelled to raise both my hands and I couldn’t keep myself from shouting.
“The grace of Ara be upon you all!”
You have cast Purgation!
Sneed’s head whipped around to fix his black gaze upon me. Behind him, Leif grunted and took a lumbering step forward. My spell was a golden light that fell like a rain of stars upon everyone in Goodlabor. I felt myself drained, but not from mana loss. My mana reserves were comfortably full. No, something else had been drawn from me to power the Fate Skill. This was far different from Lore Sight, which had never made me feel this way whenever I used it. There was no time to ponder the mystery further. I was too busy watching the results of what I had done.
Delbis fell to the ground and started screaming, joined a moment later by a woman who had antlers growing from her skull. Then another man held both his hands up over his wide, bat-like ears and started shaking his head vigorously, his fanged mouth opened in a silent scream. Over and over Goodlabor’s citizens were responding to Purgation’s power in violent, pain filled reactions.
“Ord’s Mercy, have I killed them all?”
You have gained +10 Faction with Mir!
You have gained +10 Faction with Mir!
You have…
I was receiving notifications one after another, but other than acknowledging that Mir would not have been rewarding me for killing an entire village, I was too busy focused on what was happening with Sneed. Sneed snarled in rage, displaying black, needle like teeth in his overly large mouth. Wherever my spell’s light touched his pale flesh there was a hiss as Purgation conflicted with the Shadowmurk that saturated the former Miller’s body. I let Congruency Darts fly, blue trails tracing patterns in the air. I forced myself to move and not be a stationary target. I had aimed my attack at Leif, he was the more dangerous looking of the two.
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As each of the darts zipped, zagged and pierced into Leif the hulking monstrosity jerked and cried out in pain, but it wasn’t the agony of a monster I heard. I gasped as the final dart smacked directly into Leif’s forehead, the glowing blue spike of energy making the monster’s head jerk back.
You have damaged Leif for 7 points of damage!
You have damaged Leif for 4 points of damage!
You have damaged Leif for 6 points of damage!
You have damaged Leif for 4 points of damage!
You have damaged Leif for 10 points of damage! (Critical Hit!)
With a terrible cry, Leif tore the sack from his head and I stared in disbelief at what I saw. Leif had the face of a child.
“Mir’s Mercy, no…”
I could not begin to imagine the suffering this boy had gone through as the Shadowmurk ravaged his young body. Twisting muscles, expanding body mass to outrageous proportions, but leaving everything above his neck still that of a boy.
Tears spilled down Leif’s cheeks, his mouth agape and blood pouring from the head wound. Congruency Darts fade once their damage is done, but the wounds they inflicted remained. Guilt tore through me for what I had done.
“FALSE PRIEST! SERVANT OF THE FALSE!” Sneed’s voice was a roar that was audible even above the sounds of Goodlabor’s suffering. I ignored him. I had just received a far more dire threat.
Fel Shard of Hadaeon has increased to Tier V!
WARNING! You have been infected with Shadowmurk Sickness! Exit Sector 13AX4 immediately or risk permanent mutation! Mutation will be {Touch of Xat} from Blight Map Sector list.
No, it can’t be…Xat is real?
No, I had to have been looking at this all wrong. There was no Xat. Or at least, not as a God. A name for a mutation of some sort? An Infernal trickster? Growing up, how often our Ordite Chaplain had warned us that Hell’s evil was always trying to undermine the Light. Hand of Ord, he had been right! I needed to end the threat of the shard as I had done in the Dungeon and I had the tools to do it. I raised both my hands and mimicking the stance I had seen other priests take whenever giving a blessing, I focused upon the shard.
“Gentle Mir, purge this evil from our sight! Let your golden tears rain down upon this village and wash away this blight!”
You have cast Purgation!
Again the feeling of being drained. I felt myself sway and I dropped to my knees. I instinctively knew I had one more cast of Purgation in me before I could do no more for the foreseeable future, yet as I saw the Shard flare and form a crack running top to bottom, I dared to hope I wouldn’t need to.
“NOOOO! IMPOSSIBLE! CURSE YOU!”
The storm above the Fel shard started growing. Shadowmurk was spilling forth from the crack I had created, but was immediately sucked up into the tornado above it. Purple lightning flashed and struck the ground next to me. I cried out in surprise as I was knocked off my feet.
You have taken 8 Damage! (Lightning)
You are stunned!
Groaning in pain, I tried to roll over and failed. My entire body was tingling as the electrocution worked its way through me leaving me paralyzed. When I was finally able to raise my head, my gaze fell upon one of the townsfolk, a young woman with one eye, also lying dazed upon the ground. A familiar white worm wriggled out of her eye socket and started crawling on the ground towards me.
“Ord, grant me strength!” I snarled and I made a fist and punched the ground. “Hul, show me the way forward!” I pushed myself to my feet. “Qas, grant balance betwixt body and soul!” I leveled my gaze on Sneed, whose body had swelled to even greater proportions tearing his body free from his clothing and displaying his white, murk tainted flesh for all to see.
“I WILL KILLLLL YOUUUU! FALSSSSEE PRIESSST. XAT IS ALL! XAT IS ALLLL!”
“Wik, make me the instrument of your vengeance!” I screamed.
You have gained +100 Faction with Wik!
You have regained the Tier I threshold for Active Spell: [Lesser Shadow Leech]. This spell has been returned to your Active Spell list!
I didn’t waste a second, but neither did Sneed or the disintegrating Fel Shard. I started casting spells, but the storm of Shadowmurk above the shard shifted and contracted until it resembled the Murk Worms it spread. Then, like a thing alive, it poured itself into Sneed’s open mouth.
You have cast Lesser Shadow Leech!
You have designated [Self] as Health Target!
You have cast Congruency Darts!
Darts flew and Sneed’s life started ticking down even as my own health was restored little by little. The Shadowmurk had now swelled Sneed’s body so completely that his legs and feet could no longer be seen, his torso so large it oozed over them. Despite no longer being able to move and taking damage as I kept up my barrage of darts Sneed laughed.
“XAAAAT ISSSS AAAALLL!”
Both the Hadaeon shard and Sneed exploded. I covered my face even as bits of the man flew in every direction, but then I heard a hiss and eyes wide I turned back.
“Sul’s balls!” I swore.
Where Sneed had been a moment before, a giant Murk Worm wriggled and hissed as it divested itself of the last of its former body. It was covered in bloody gore and protected itself with an aura of purple lightning. There was a groan and a snarl to the right of the Sneed Worm. I had forgotten about Leif. He was sprawled on the ground, slack jawed from being bowled over from the explosion. Next to him a creature resembling a desiccated dog corpse that was nuzzling his cheek and whimpering.
“Pal…Pal….” Leif kept repeating over and over. Was that the dog’s name? Was there nothing Shadowmurk didn’t corrupt? It hadn’t spared even the animals of Goodlabor or its children. I wanted vengeance for Leif, for Pal, but I felt only pity in my heart as I turned back to the Sneed Worm. I didn’t need Lore Sight to know this was a strong creature, perhaps even stronger than the Hellblade or the Void Infestation.
“I deny you,” I whispered. The Sneed Worm screeched and started wriggling towards me. Had it heard me somehow? It didn’t matter. I wasn’t running. I wasn’t going to leave Goodlabor until I had purged every last bit of Shadowmurk from its borders. “And I won’t stop there. I won’t rest until I have purged every last bit of Shadowmurk from Aramyr forever. This, I so swear!”
You have gained +25 Faction Light Pantheon!
You have gained +25 Faction Shadow Pantheon!
You have gained +25 Faction Elemental Entities!
UNA has taken notice of you!
PYR has taken notice of you!
AQA has taken notice of you!
I pushed the notifications aside. Now wasn’t the time for questioning the motives of Gods. I believed I had just taken one step closer to understanding what a Prophet was, for I had just made a prophecy and the Gods had heard me and all had agreed.
I recast Lesser Shadow Leech and Congruency Darts. I also rolled Sul’s Dice and cast Vow of Denial and smiled in grim satisfaction when the lightning aura surrounding Sneed Worm’s body abruptly changed to a wreath of golden fire that burned the Worm’s body with holy, positive energy for several seconds before Sneed was able to cancel the aura.
The damage was done. Sneed Worm could barely move, but it was still able to spit a caustic slime at me, which I was able to block with Lesser Barrier of Light. A rotation of shielding, leeching, darting and then backing off to let my high mana regeneration due its work finally brought the monster down.
You have defeated an Elite Murk Worm larvae!
Calculating Rewards…
“Help…Ord’s Mercy, help me!”
It began as one cry for help, then several others joined in calling for aid as Goodlabor’s townsfolk began to come to their senses. People were crying and gasping in pain. Some were already standing again, but wandering aimlessly as they mumbled and spouted nonsense words. I was tired. So very tired, but I had to do all I could. This was why I had become a Priest. To heal the sick.
The corpse of the worm disintegrated and in its place sat a wooden chest that shimmered with light. The Gods had rewarded me, but I ignored it and instead knelt beside the crying, one eyed woman. Her worm was gone and she was cured. I closed my eyes and let the wails of the suffering people and dog wash over me. I knew it would be a long time before Goodlabor was ever truly healed, but its healing would began now with the return of the Gods.
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