LOCATION: SHALE STREET
AREA: ASHEN CITY, NOCTURNUS
STARDATE: 4205771x24 | TIME: EARLY MORNING
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System Message:
The following events occurred outside the area observed by the System. This historical Record was reconstructed from a memory archive voluntarily released after the subject Trevor Gant’s return.
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Trevor slipped out the Storehouse door and into the narrow alley. The skies were an ashen gray, and no sunlight made it through to illuminate the city below.
“Fine by me,” Trevor whispered. “Makes it easier to blend into the shadows when everything is bathed in it.”
His tunic clung to his skin, and it wasn’t from the heat.
The very air smelled of oil and grease, and Trevor could feel it trying to seep into his skin even in the short time he’d been here.
He turned left at the end of the alley, onto a larger street. According to Rin, this should be Shale Street.
He counted the rickety houses on the right side of the road.
Number sixteen.
This was the one.
He stayed in stealth and checked to be sure he was unobserved. The street was empty, and nobody had so much as peeked through their curtainless windows in his direction.
Trevor turned the handle on the front door and entered Rin’s home.
“Jesus,” he muttered.
The place was utilitarian to an extreme. Not a single comfort could be seen anywhere.
A single black chair sat on a black floor, slid under a simple black table just large enough for one person to eat.
He turned toward the kitchen.
A short black countertop and a small sink. Trevor opened the pantry. Box after box of a single meal lined the shelves.
The meals were labeled as “Protein Meal.”
He was curious to try one, but knew he had to move onward.
Trevor stowed the small amount of gear he’d brought with him under the bed in Rin’s bedroom. Carrying weapons on the streets would only arouse suspicion, but at least he had them.
A set of sharpened daggers for his Rogue set. Two short swords for his Fighter, and an expandable staff for Varris.
He laid the other two outfits on top of the bed and took in a deep breath. Or at least he tried to.
Even with his System enhancements, his lungs were still struggling to process oxygen from the oily air, but he knew his body would adapt with time.
He closed his eyes and focused for a moment, slowing his heartbeat.
It was time.
He carefully removed his rogue outfit and took a look at the breeches and long robe of the Mage laid out on the bed.
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“Ugh. Here we go.”
Naked now, Trevor sat cross-legged on the floor and concentrated.
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Switch Persona Slots from [Shadow Infiltrator] to [Charismatic Paragon - Mage Varris]?
[Y / N]
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Trevor selected Yes and prepared for what came next.
Searing pain surged through his body as his new pathways purged themselves of dark, shadow energy.
Black smoke emanated from his nose and mouth, and from his pores. He could feel the heat as the smoke dissipated in the air, hissing like a hydraulic machine.
Once the shadows were purged, his conduits came to life. He wanted to scream out from the agony, but was able to stay silent during the entire ordeal.
Trevor’s vital conduits began generating mana and pumping it through the pathways.
Many of Varris’s skills focused on Charisma, but he also needed high Perception to be able to read people. As Trevor’s stats flared upward, he could feel the mana pouring into his lymphatic system, then through every inch of his body.
It was excruciating, but he breathed through it all.
In all, the process took a half hour.
“At least there wasn’t any blood this time,” he said.
He pulled on the Mage outfit and stood.
This was going to be tricky. He had to make it to the other side of the Ashen City in time for the off-world transport to arrive, and somehow slip into the crowd.
Doing this as a Rogue would have been effortless, of course, but it was the Mage he would be presenting to them.
Trevor looked out the window. There was still nobody on the street. Rin had told him that if he left early enough, he only needed to avoid the Black Guard patrols, as neighbors would still be sleeping.
“What time does everyone begin leaving their homes for work?” Trevor had asked.
He remembered the puzzled look on Rin’s face before she realized what he meant.
“Oh, right. Time. We don’t have clocks in the Ashen City. A bell is rung through the residential area that tells us when to wake up, when to leave for work, and the Supervisors tell us when we can go back home. As long as you arrive at the Off-World Transport Station before the first bell, you should have no trouble hiding there.”
So, he did just that.
Trevor left the house through the front door and stayed as close to the shadows as he could.
He was able to avoid two Black Guard patrols, but the third one spotted him and ran him down.
It was three men dressed in black trenchcoats. One of them held his metal baton at the ready. He stood in front of Trevor and questioned him, while the other two stood behind him.
It was a tactic obviously meant to intimidate him, but Trevor just smiled. He allowed a bit of Varris to seep through into his voice.
“Why are you on the streets, Citizen? What is your designation?”
Trevor smiled, far more relaxed than he should be as he was surrounded by the Black Guard.
He flared his Charisma, and tapped into the spell Insidious Charm. When he spoke, he could see the guards’ reaction immediately.
“The question is: why are we standing around on the street when you should be escorting me to the Off-World Transport Station.”
Trevor clicked his tongue and kept a look of disinterest and disapproval on his face.
He looked the guard in the eyes, then turned slowly and did the same with the other two.
“How dare you—”
“Enough,” the lead Guard said. “Let’s escort the VIP to the Station and get back to our patrol.”
As soon as he said it, Trevor simply nodded and spoke not another word as they escorted him through the Ashen City.
They passed through four checkpoints effortlessly, as the lead Guard showed his credentials and they were waved through.
Trevor realized he would have never been able to make it to the Station without the escort.
When they finally arrived, Trevor turned to them.
“When does the next off-world transport arrive?”
The third guard left to check the schedule. Nobody spoke while he was gone.
When he returned, he said, “In three days. There is a room in back where you can wait. It is stocked with protein meals and water. I will leave word that the room is not to be disturbed.”
Trevor looked in the direction they pointed and saw the room at the end of a hallway.
“That will suffice. Now, look me in the eyes. This is important.”
The three members of the Black Guard did as they were told.
“You have done well in escorting me here safely. I will see that you are rewarded for your efforts this morning. You will not speak of this, or of me, to anyone.”
They nodded.
“Now, go. Return to your duties.”
He released his hold on their minds, and the three Guards simply shrugged, turned and walked away.
Trevor shuddered as he relinquished control. He felt dirty.
But that wasn’t the part that bothered him. He felt dirty, but it didn’t bother him. That was what bothered him.
He resolved to keep Varris under control from that point forward, but he also knew it was going to be a balancing act that would take everything he had.
Wielding that kind of power was intoxicating in its own way, and to achieve his mission in this dark new world, Trevor would have to rely heavily on Varris’s skills.
He only hoped he wouldn’t lose himself in the process.