CD Chapter Twenty-one (Patreon)

Bloodhaven was filled with the players who didn’t want to follow the rules - written or unwritten - of the other cities in Veritas Online. Whether you tried to kill everyone you saw, regardless of the consequences, or if you preferred to steal private property without worrying about the guards, this was the place for you. Of course, money flowed as freely as blood here, and if you attacked someone’s favorite merchant or stole from a wealthy NPC, mercenaries could be sent after you, and they would follow you no matter where you ran.

Alpha was well-used to adapting to the shifting balance of order and chaos that swirled through the streets of Bloodhaven. When she heard screams and the clash of blades, she took a narrow side street to avoid it. When six Dwarven players with sneers on their faces and mugs in their hands came swaggering toward her, she shoved an NPC who was exiting his house back inside and followed after, holding the man with [Mesmer Eyes] until the boisterous group had passed.

Frankly, she was strong enough to take on many of the players in Bloodhaven, who tended to reach around level eighty to ninety and then just stall out. In the beginning, they got lots of experience killing everything that moved, but there weren’t many NPCs or monsters in the area who were high enough level to make hunting them worthwhile after a player reached level eighty. Dungeons took teamwork, and the kind of long, involved quests that would actually help a level eighty-plus character weren’t interesting to someone who preferred getting electronically drunk and pushing the limits of what they could say and do to other players without being temp-banned.

The truth was, Alpha hated Bloodhaven. It had been vaguely bearable when FantumHat had been in charge, because everyone knew that if anyone broke his (admittedly few) rules, he or his guild would spawn-camp them back to level one. Now that the only thing keeping people in line was the threat of someone hiring an assassin to go after them, it was a lawless, miserable place, but it was also the only place with a real need for services like those offered by players like Alpha. People who were willing or able to play nice with others had friends or guild members to play with, and someone was usually willing to be a sort of digital ‘designated driver’ to get their loot home safely.

No, Bloodhaven was the place where the loners, the losers, and the lame ended up, while everyone else passed through on their way to bigger and better things. This had become even more true in recent months, since FantumHat had been banned from VO, and his guild, the ForceWorn, had fallen apart under an onslaught of delayed retaliation for their past jackassery. Now, with nearly fifty thousand dollars burning a hole in her bank account, Alpha was going to ditch this dumpster fire, too.

But first, a new god.

She stared up at the temple, which was covered in ostentatious statuary, gilded gutters, and swooping buttresses. Everything in Bloodhaven seemed to be either broken down or over-done, and she wondered what the developers had been thinking when they designed it. Sighing, she walked up the two flights of stairs leading to the broad, bell-shaped archway.

Inside, she saw row after row of padded benches, most of which were empty. Gods, in general, gave slightly better buffs at temples dedicated to them personally, so the only people who came here were the few players and NPCs whose gods didn’t have their own building in or near the temple district. None of the ten or so people inside bothered to look at Alpha as she slid inside except for one little NPC, whose petite stature, large ears, pale skin, and ragged clothes marked him as a gnome.

Alpha grimaced, avoiding his gaze. Gnomes were a new race, linked to the unique dungeon located in Refuge. Dungeons in Veritas were the ‘go in, kill lots of stuff, defeat a boss, get loot’ type, which tended to be fast and exciting. The Atheneum dungeon, however, was apparently full of tricks, puzzles, and tests, each of which seemed to be personalized for the player or group of players involved. It was instanced, too, so every team that went in was on their own, and couldn’t communicate with anyone on the outside until they left.

It was also run by gnomes. Lots and lots of gnomes. Every gnome Alpha had heard of would offer a quest to help them reach the dungeon, and almost nobody accepted. For one thing, escort quests were a pain, but for another, if you promised to protect the pathetic little creatures, they would serve you faithfully right up until they got close enough to Refuge to make a break for it. Some players were recommending refusing the quest but telling the gnome you would help, which got you a disposable minion.

Shaking her head, Alpha made her way around the edge of the room to the long, low altar at the front. Offerings were piled there, everything from gold to monster-parts, and even in Bloodhaven, they would remain until the god to whom they’d been offered decided to claim them. Stealing from the gods was the one rule even the idiots of Bloodhaven wouldn’t break, because having no feet for a week or smelling like cabbage-farts for a month just wasn’t worth it.

She opened her inventory, rifling through to find something to offer. Technically, you didn’t have to offer anything, but picking something good might help the right kind of god decide to accept her. After much deliberation, she pulled out a large, white stone with a smooth spiral worn into one side.

Meditation Stone - A simple quartz stone meant to aid in meditation. Trace the spiral to bring yourself closer to a state of zen. This one is particularly nice. Drop rate  - .10%  Weight - 2 lbs. Rarity - Very Rare.

It wasn’t fancy, but it was one of the rarest things she had that wasn’t either weapons or armor. While she wouldn’t mind a martial patron deity, they already tended toward the dark side, and she really didn’t want to accidentally attract the attention of one of Apofis’ buddies, or, worse, Apofis himself.

Bowing her head, she set the stone on the altar. She closed her eyes, but hesitated before praying. This was weird. She’d carefully selected Vorus from the wiki about all the gods in VO. She’d known exactly what to offer, and the words she needed to say to get him to give her the buffs she wanted before she left on a job.

But this? This was too much like real prayer. Her mother hadn’t been religious, and though Molly had encouraged her to attend services with a few of her friends over the years, nothing about it had particularly struck her as realistic. When she learned about magical thinking in high-school, she’d basically dismissed the whole thing. Right up until her mother’s diagnosis. Suddenly,what had seemed like nothing but grasping for meaning in a meaningless universe had become her mother’s last chance at life, and she had prayed. Down on her knees in the dark silence of her bedroom at night, she had begged, pleaded, offered bargain after bargain, and been answered with more silence, and, eventually, Molly’s death.

Alpha drew in a shuddering breath. This wasn’t that. Something would answer her here, and it was just as much an NPC as the gnome cowering next to his oblivious master. She might not know the words to this magic spell, but that was all it was, no different from when she cast [Identify] or used [Roar].

“I need a god,” Alpha muttered. “You probably already know why. Someone with some battle buffs would be nice, but I guess the most important thing is that I get this [Stealth] skill. I’m a pretty good follower. I make an offering every time, and I like buffs, so I’ll be in at least every few days. I’ll try to follow your rules, as long as they’re not crazy, and, um…” She trailed off, not sure what else she could say to make herself sound appealing.

The Gods have heard you! Please be patient while they discuss your proposal.

Alpha stared at the message incredulously. Had the gods just put her on hold? Seriously? “Amythyst,” she growled under her breath, and a hint of a snicker touched her ear.

Three gods eye you with interest.

Typhus, God of Trash and Disease, appreciates that you offered Him a rock. While you are a vampire, your body is also a filthy corpse, and this appeals to Him. He would curse you to be a walking contagion, a carrier of all the diseases to be found in rotten meat.

Yeah, hard pass.

Minetra, Goddess of Knowledge and Craftsmen, appreciates the beauty and simple artistry of your offering. She finds vampires repugnant, however, and would curse you to never again drink blood.

So, a short ride to [Berserk], followed by what? Death? Or would Minetra feel pity for Ava and repudiate her before she actually expired? Either way, not really a valid offer.

Quezal, God of the Union of Earth and Air, whose symbol is the spiral, appreciates the perfect beauty of your offering. He sees that you must have feared to ask for Him directly, and so used this method to catch His attention. As a member of the Pantheon of Light, He is required to curse you before you may become one of His followers. However, He believes the rule is arbitrary and stupid, and would curse you to never again wear the color black, which is the sacred color of his enemy God, Tezca.

Alpha snorted. She’d never heard of Quezal before, and he sounded like a bit of a prig, but she could handle not wearing black, even though it was one of her favorite colors. She’d just have to see how dark a gray she could get away with.

“Great god Quezal,” she murmured, “I humbly ask to become one of your followers.”

Congratulations! You are now the first follower of Quezal! As His only follower, you automatically become His High Priestess, and will hold this position so long as no other follower exceeds your devotion to Him.

Your Relationship with your Deity, Quezal, is now 50 (Friendly).

As High Priestess of Quezal, you may choose from one of the following boons:

• Have a constant rain fall around you. The size and ferocity of this storm will increase as your connection to your Deity grows stronger.
• Be surrounded by an aura of sunlight. This aura will damage any undead near you, as well as dispelling any Darkness effects. Your aura will increase in scope and brilliance as your connection to your Deity grows stronger.
• Gain a companion in the form of a Blessed Creature. This creature will grow in size and strength as your connection to your Deity grows stronger.

Quest: “Find God(dess)” complete.

You found a deity. Whether or not he’s a good one remains to be seen. But hey, at least he likes you!

Success: A new God. Boons. The Vampiric [Stealth] skill.

The God Quezal has granted you the skill [Vampiric Stealth]!

Alpha’s jaw dropped as she read the notifications. Why was she suddenly a High Priestess? And what was with these crazy boons? There was no way she wanted to be a walking, talking, rain bringer. Besides the fact that it would attract too much attention, she hated the very idea of constantly being stuck in mud. And the aura of sunlight? Great, except she was undead! She’d fry herself in minutes.

Which left the animal companion. Alpha had never had a pet in Veritas Online. They had to be cared for, fed, and played with, just like real animals, and if they were injured, you had to use bandages and potions to heal them. They couldn’t do anything except look good, either, so they were basically useless. Though it did say the creature would grow in size and strength, so maybe it was more like the kind of animals belonging to someone with a Pet Tamer class?

Pet Tamers were incredibly rare, with fewer than a thousand known out of the millions of VO players. There was some kind of Secret Quest associated with getting the class, and even after it was completed, no one was willing to talk about it. Presumably, they had to do something so terrible or embarrassing that not even becoming a social media star was worth divulging it. Though many of them became influencers anyway, because people loved to watch them and their cute animals fight and quest together.

Which led back to the ‘attract too much attention’ problem. Alpha didn’t like attention. She wanted to fade into the background, do what she needed to do, and get back out without anyone remarking on her presence. If she had some kind of unique pet following her around, there was no way that would happen.

“Uh, Quezal, can I just not-” She stopped as a notification scrolled across her vision.

Your Relationship with your Deity, Quezal, has dropped by 10. It is now Cordial.

“Guess not,” she muttered. “Okay, um, I’ll take the Blessed Creature, then. But can you make it,” her fingers measured out a space no more than three inches wide, “small?”

Your Relationship with your Deity, Quezal, has increased by 5.

Alpha got halfway through a sigh of relief when a lightning bolt cracked down from the ceiling, striking the Meditation Stone. When she managed to blink the afterimage from her vision, Alpha saw a small, leathery, elongated egg lying in the spot the stone had occupied. Before she could reach out and take it, however, a hand shot over her shoulder and snatched it up.