Dreamland

They went overboard with the NPCs. I know it's all about realism, all about true feelings, but there can be a little too much realism. When you see the blood, when you look into their eyes when they die, when you see them suffer, you can't treat them as NPCs; you think they are people.

They even say that! As Ayra said, you look at me as if I would be a lesser human!? Yes! You. are. a. damn. NPC! AI … or… whatever….

OK, OK, OK.

I put my hands over my face and blew air into them repeatedly. I'm not going to hyperventilate! It's a fucking game!

Take a deep breath, Dolores. Inhale… now exhale. Cool. I am Cala. Inhale, exhale. Take your time. Yes, it helps. Cala is a strong and determined girl. Cala has years of experience. Cala has seen a lot of death and a lot of suffering.

Inhale, exhale.

It worked. I closed my eyes and felt that experienced coolness sweep over me. I opened my eyes and shrugged.

Now this job was not one of the most brilliant jobs I have done. I should have thought about it and the consequences before taking it, not after. Now it's over; what can I do? These are just NPCs, OK? All these feelings are there just to improve the gaming experience, okay?

I sensed something was different, but I couldn't pinpoint what had changed. Maybe I was just more sensitive today?

I straightened my posture and focused on calming my thoughts. The suns were still high in the sky, and the walk was unpleasant due to the heat.

I entered the upscale commercial district located on the other side of the market. Here the streets were partially covered with huge canvases to protect people from direct exposure to sunrays. Although the paving was of higher quality than in the rogue quarter, the streets were still relatively narrow, and the covering trapped the stale air carrying various scents. As I searched for the tavern where Spartacius and I had planned to meet, I realized I was running late. I tried to remember the name of the tavern - it was something with a boar, and there were at least three different taverns with a boar in the name - but then I saw Alice running towards me.

"What happened?" I asked her.

"A catastrophe happened, Lady Cala; this man you brought with us is insane!" Alice exclaimed.

I held back my laughter. Another catastrophe? As players, we often did crazy things for the fun of it. I wonder what prank did he play?

I looked around and saw the town in turmoil, with guards rushing back and forth. To put it gently, I suspected my recent visit to the Hollybrun residence might have caused this.

Although I had worn a mask during my 'visit,' I didn't want to take any chances. It would be best to lie low for a while. So what did my young friend do now?

Alice gave me her report:

“After the raid, he went to the tavern with Noviel and some people from the raid group. They drank, someone started a fight, and when the guards came in to restore order, they fought the guards, and he ordered her to shoot them!”

I sighed.

“Is he crazy? This would...”

…totally ruin our reputation – I wanted to say, but seeing that Alice was in a state of shock, I said flatly:

“it’s not allowed.”

Why is she so shocked about it? Besides, there must be that town protection spell that would limit the damage.

I remembered him planning to test Noviel, and I understood. He must have read on some blog about the ultimate NPC mercenary test: if she was ready to kill without questioning the symbols of power in the city she lives in, fully trusting your judgment and decision, that's the height of trust.

But you do not get to that level of trust by simply making the contract, and you cannot test and retest. He and Noviel had just had their first action together. That's not enough for their relationship to reach that level of trust!? This is not your casual Mephi game but the hardcore version. The culmination, the only active hardcore game. I know Alice would do this for me, but testing it this way is silly.

Oh well, the problem was that I lost too much time with the quest, and then I returned to the guild to cash my money, delaying me even more. If I had been with Spartacius in the tavern, this shit would not have happened.

An agitated Alice unusually contradicted me:

“Not allowed? It's simply criminal. And it is coming even worse, Lady Cala, as Noviel didn’t want to kill the guards, but as she swore to follow his commands, she committed suicide to avoid disobeying him.”

“What? Is she dead?” - I asked.

What a waste; he paid the money, my money, and now he is left without the support rogue.

Hearing her calling me 'Lady Cala' during this nonformal communication sounded an alarm bell with me. It must be that she is really shocked and feels hurt. I watched her more attentively: her eyes were wide in shock, and her lower lip trembled.

She looked expectantly at me and spoke:

“She is not dead yet; she used the poisoned ritual dagger that kills slowly: the punishment for breaking the contract. Only a miracle can save her. It is a slow-killing poison without antidote except...”

What? Is she asking me to waste one of my precious epic poison-healing potions for Noviel, an almost unknown rogue who did some stupid ritual for a silly reason? Even worse, knowing magic is not well received here? I looked into her eyes: her face was transfigured, looking back with those clear blue eyes, and I thought I could see a tear, a little pearl shining, that she wiped angrily.

Don't fool me with emotions; you're an NPC!

“Noviel would not want you to save her.” - I mumbled.

She sighed, “That I know...” - then, while her face became even more imploring, she added - “but she will have to accept it. I am her elder; she has no other relatives; they are all dead. I know her well; Noviel is my niece. I recommended her...”

OK, not wholly unknown rogue. A relative? Niece? Do NPCs build dynasties here in this game? Does this mean Alice has a sister? Had because she said: the only relative.

I sighed at my turn. Maybe I should not have left Spartacius alone with Alice to choose a rogue. Blackmailed by my merc with those big round blue puppy eyes. Damn, I could not resist it. I searched in my inventory box. Does this pay for my sins? I thought about Thiara… no way, no. But it at least saves one NPC from certain death.

“Take this healing potion and give it to her. Dilute it with this blue mana potion. That will delay the effect, but anyhow, you know what this means!? They'll get suspicious of us that we deal with devil's tools. Will she accept it? You still want to try?”

She answered with a defiant look:

“She already passed out, and I am her warden, so I get to decide for her. I understand what this means for us! I humbly thank you!”

The way how she looked back at me said much more. She knew magic was tabu here, and she was grateful I did this for her. These idiots, with their fear of magic, with their 'only by virtue of nature' healing, with herbs and prayers, this does not work well in a magical world. Yes, it is true miracles happen too, but I guess that is also a kind of magic. And yes, they accept holy priests heal; that is holy... and unreachable for most. None of the local priests is good enough for such a case; the archbishop needs to send in somebody, so even if I wanted to do it their way, the girl would be long dead before they even decide to move their asses to help.

Why do I do it? Alice's loyalty towards me was at its maximum, I could not increase it further, and still, I could not resist her begging eyes.

Fuck, she is an NPC, not a real person! The second NPC that tricks my good heart today, but this was a four hundred gold value, not four, as was the case for Ayra. Are these NPCs linked somehow in the background and place bets on who can extort more money from me? Is this payback for Thiara? I just lost almost all the money I made… OK, this is only money.

I gripped her hand before she left me:

“Where is he? Spartacius? Is he ok?”

Her answer confirmed my worries:

“The guards took him to jail!”

“To jail?” - I wondered.

"Yes, in the tower!" - she confirmed.

Drats, I need to do something and help him out. I saw her imploring face and did not keep her any longer. “Run now with the potion; we'll meet later!” - I said.

“Thank you, lady Cala.” - she answered and left running.

Shit. This little emotional thing will cost me not only money but also some of my reputation with this faction. Even if Alice heals the rogue, my reputation will only get worse. Hopefully, she manages to administer the healing potion without many witnesses, and they somehow hide the fast recovery. Even with the delay, her situation from dying to 'flying' in two days is highly suspicious. I might try to bribe a monk to pray for her? Yeah, that sounds like an idea; I need to talk with Alice about it. It was the monk's prayers that saved her. A miracle happened! The monk does not even need to know we use him as a decoy.

On one side, I was surprised to see my merc displaying feelings; on the other side, this may be some kind of a quest. It was said that they introduced quests that should seamlessly integrate with your day-to-day activities.

Instinctively I tried again to check my visual interface for quests, but it failed again to activate.

Ow, the damn bug! No way to activate it and no way to see my reputation level either. Hopefully, nobody will find out who freed the slaves, and the Empire still counts me as friendly.

OK, I'll check this later. First, let me help this noob out of jail. To do this, I'll first need to assess the situation.