CD Chapter Twenty-two (Patreon)

Tanned fingers pinched the egg, dimpling its smooth surface. “What’s this?”

Alpha spun on her knees, her cloak billowing out around her with unnecessary drama. Reaching out, she curled her fingers around the other player’s hand, her sharp claws digging into his flesh and drawing blood.

She found herself staring into purple eyes wide with shock. The other player, an elf with the usual golden hair and delicate features of his parent race, froze as Alpha’s [Mesmer Eyes] took effect without her doing more than realizing she should try it.

“Let. Go,” she growled, and the man’s hand opened, dropping the egg into her palm. And now she was stuck. If she looked away, the jerk would probably attack, but she couldn’t just stand there forever. Narrowing her eyes, she assessed her opponent.

D3th Angel - Flame Archer. Level 81.

Blood Pack: 10 units.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, since that might  count as breaking eye contact. She really didn’t need to know how many units of blood he was worth.

A hand came to rest on her shoulder, and a voice, familiar and yet much too deep, said, “I’ve got this.”

Alpha blinked. She didn’t mean to, she just did, and D3th Angel instantly attacked. A knife slashed out, slicing Alpha’s arm to the bone, and she screamed, reminded that her pain settings were still way too high.

You have lost 78 Drops of Blood.

You are Bleeding.

A sword flickered out from behind her, taking off D3th Angel’s hand just above the wrist. The other player grimaced, though he didn’t cry out. Most people who regularly got into fights kept their pain settings somewhere around forty percent, so while he’d definitely notice the amputation, he could shake it off while Alpha was still shaking in reaction to her own injury.

“Asshole!” D3th Angel glared at someone over Alpha’s shoulder, holding up his still-bleeding stump. “I’m gonna have to pay for a priest to restore this. I don’t have [Regenerate], and I can’t use my bow without two hands!”

An arm wrapped across Alpha’s chest, pulling her back against someone tall enough to see over her head. Another strong, green-clad arm stretched out, pointing the tip of a gleaming silver sword at the archer. “Then keep your hands to yourself next time, Jaffa cake, and you won’t have to worry about it. Now piss off!”

That did it. Alpha tried to turn, but only managed to crane her head around enough to stare up at the profile of a man who looked enough like Amythyst to be her twin. She squinted, and his name popped up above his head.

Myles2Go - Sword Reaper. Level 90.

D3th Angel glared back and forth between Alpha and Myles, and Alpha stood up straight, shaking off Myles’ protective arm. Now that he was outnumbered, outleveled, and down a hand, however, the opposing player seemed to have lost the will to fight. Turning, he shouted a few threats over his shoulder as he raced from the temple, already applying a bandage to his stump.

Alpha spun to stare at Myles, who grinned at her with Amythyst’s usual brilliant grin. “What the hotcake?” she hissed, frustration crackling through her. “What did you do? Just wait until you could ‘save the day’ like some big hero?”

The grin dimmed, and Myles glanced away. “Maybe?” His - her? - moss green eyes met Alpha’s again, and they crinkled at the corners. “I wasn’t even a little cool?”

Alpha’s shoulders sagged and she shook her head. “I had it handled. Seriously. But you-” She stopped, looking around. There weren’t many people in the temple, but everyone there had watched avidly during the confrontation with D3th Angel. The attention had wandered when the archer ran off into the night, but now it was returning. Were they going to get to watch a couple bicker right in front of them? Someone, break out the popcorn!

Alpha tugged her sagging hood further forward and hooked her uninjured arm though Myles’. She tucked the almost-forgotten egg safely in her inventory as she tugged them out the door, down the steps, and into a shallow, rubble-strewn alleyway nearby. With a thought, she sent a prompt to her companion.

Myles2Go has accepted your party invite! You may now send this player private messages when you are within one mile of each other.

Myles offered her a lop-sided grin. ::Don’t want anyone to hear you tell me off?::

She rolled her eyes, lifting her arm for his inspection. ::No, I don’t want them to hear when you explain why this won’t stop bleeding! We’re out of combat. I should be recovered by now. Instead, I’m down almost two hundred health.::

He raised a brow at her. ::Health? Or Blood?::

Her stride hitched as she put that together. ::Graham it.:: She glared at his smirk. ::You need to turn that off.::

He shrugged, laying his sword over his shoulder as he started whistling. ::Nope,:: he sent simply. ::It’s hilarious.::

She firmly pushed down the urge to bite him, and find out how quickly all-powerful-AI blood would heal her. In her anger, she spoke out loud, practically hissing. “What am I supposed to do, then? I can’t ask some random stranger to bleed for me-”

Something tugged at the edge of her cloak, causing her to clutch at the hood to prevent it from sliding off her head entirely. She whipped around, glaring at empty space, and it took a moment for her eyes to track down to the pale, big-eared face staring up at her.

“Mistress,” the gnome said timidly, tilting his head to the side to bare his skinny neck. “I can help you.”

“Holy carp!” She shot a scowl at Myles, who just grinned even wider. Turning back to the gnome, she crouched down. “Look, uh…”

“Toggle, Mistress. Just Toggle.”

“Sure, Toggle. I don’t know why you’re following me, but-”

Toggle blinked watery blue eyes at her, tugging at the tall, pointed red hat that sat on his head, nearly doubling his height. “Please, Mistress, I just need someone to take me to the new dungeon in Refuge. I’ll serve you however you need until then.” He gestured meaningfully at his throat, and she swallowed against a rising tide of nausea.

Alpha clapped a hand over her mouth, wincing as she sprayed blood over the little guy. “Ew, look, no,” she sputtered, completely thrown off balance, but stopped as a quest notification appeared in the air before her.

Quest: “Ask Not for Whom the Gnome Trolls” available.

Toggle the Gnome is searching for someone to take him safely to the Atheneum Dungeon. He promises to serve you until he arrives home.

Success: Experience. Warm fuzzies. A Gift from Toggle.

Failure: None.

Accept: Yes/No?

Instantly, she selected no, and the text vanished. One gleaming silver tear appeared in the corner of Toggle’s eye, and she gritted her teeth.

“Please,” he whimpered. “I followed my former master for months, hoping he would keep his promise, but he never left this terrible place.” He took off his hat, revealing flyaway brown hair, and began rolling it agitatedly between his palms. The quest popped up again.

Quest: “Ask Not for Whom the Gnome Trolls” available.

Toggle the Gnome is searching for someone to take him safely to the Atheneum Dungeon. He promises to serve you until he arrives home.

Success: Experience. Warm fuzzies. A Gift from Toggle.

Failure: None.

Accept: Yes/No?

This time she brushed the words away like she’d walked through a spiderweb and stood, setting her hands on her hips as she glowered at Myles. ::I don’t want a fruitcaking escort quest. Don’t we have a job to do?::

Myles pretended to think, tapping one finger on his chin in a distinctly Amythyst-like way. ::And don’t you need blood and someone to watch over your soulless body when you’re gone?::

Alpha pointed at the gnome, who stood barely three feet tall without his hat, which he was rapidly crushing into a shapeless mass of felt. ::He looks like he has barely enough blood for himself. If I took any, he’d probably die!::

The AI shrugged cheerfully. ::Why don’t you check?::

Frustrated, Alpha turned back to Toggle, triggering [Identify] and [Blood Pack].

Toggle (NPC) - Lost Gnome. Level 30.

Blood Pack: 17 units

“What the-? Why is it seventeen?” In her shock, Alpha spoke out loud again.

Toggle, thinking she was asking him, answered. “Long ago, Gnomes and Trolls shared a common ancestor. While it’s true that my people focused on intelligence, rather than physical strength, like our cousins, we retain the rapid regeneration of our long-distant progenitor. Please, Mistress, you’ll find that I’m a very useful servant.”

The quest appeared in front of her for a third time.

Quest: “Ask Not for Whom the Gnome Trolls” available.

Toggle the Gnome is searching for someone to take him safely to the Atheneum Dungeon. He promises to serve you until he arrives home. He’s even offering to let you drink his blood! Where’s the problem?

Success: Experience. Warm fuzzies. BLOOD. A Gift from Toggle.

Failure: None.

Accept: Yes/No?

Current Blood supply: 1274/1805

“Fine!” Alpha’s finger stabbed out, unnecessarily poking the ‘Yes’, even though it was already fading away. She looked at Myles. ::I can take a hint, already. I don’t know why you can’t just,:: she waved her hand in Amythyst’s ‘cosmic powers’ motion, ::poof me some blood. Or, better yet, make it so I don’t need to drink it!::

Myles grimaced. ::Wish I could, but the vampire race is locked down hard. Apofis kept trying to find ways to cheat and make vamps impossible to beat, so the code was actually locked under 256-bit encryption. Without the decryption key, even I can’t change it.::

::Then just unvamp me! I’m on your side now! Why do I need to be a vampire at all?:: Alpha practically shouted, even as she watched another ten drops of blood drain from her health.

Myles just shook his head, eyes widening as they looked behind her. ::I think your new buddy takes priority at the moment.::

Alpha whirled around, staring at Toggle. Sure enough, the small being had drawn a blade no bigger than a penknife and cut a line across his palm. When he saw that he had her attention, he offered up the dripping hand with a hopeful smile. Immediately, Alpha summoned a vial from her inventory and handed it to him.

“Don’t do that,” she hissed. “I’m not going to bite you, or even drink straight from the tap, you know?” Myles snorted a laugh behind her, but she forged ahead, ignoring him. “Put it in there, and I’ll drink it like a civilized person.”

Obediently, the gnome held his hand over the mouth of the vial, squeezing it into a fist much as Mai Ley had done. The vial was only half full when the bleeding slowed and stopped, and Alpha held up a staying hand when the gnome started to cut himself again.

“Let’s just see what this does, first, okay?” Alpha lifted the container of glistening red fluid and set it to her lips, taking a careful sip.

You are no longer Bleeding.

“About time,” she muttered, swiping away the message. She drank another sip, then just guzzled the faintly sweet, oddly lime-flavored fluid, pretending it was her favorite lemon-lime soda instead.

You have restored 130 Drops of Blood.

Current Blood Supply: 1231/1805

She stared at the cut on her arm, which vanished even as she watched, leaving unmarked skin behind. “Well, that’s better, I guess.” Looking back up at Myles, she set her fists on her hips. ::But you have some explaining to do, Miss No-More-Secrets.::