NOVEL WEB Chapter 24: Interlude 3, part 1
Week 3
Gil focused on resting for the first two days, looking on as Snow and Ireena sorted through the salvage. Most of it was junk, as expected. Much of it was broken, or rotted, or so rusted that it would be unsafe to use. Gil had immediately granted himself Addiction Defense and had been granted a universal baseline immune system, but didn't have body defense yet. More importantly, neither of the living girls came from worlds where tetanus shots existed.
Ireena, being the stronger of the two, dragged the large trunk full of moldering clothes near the corner of the skyblock and pulled them out, picking out the usable ones and the ones that could be unraveled and respun into something useful. Gil picked out three of the six wooden chairs, had Snow scrub them clean, and sanded them down with a file. The resulting chairs were placed around the firepit, newly equipped with a circle of stones and a stand Snow could use to suspend the cooking pot more safely.
In addition to sanding off the splinters, Gil did his part by picking through the bag of spoils from Durst Manor. Unfortunately, the items had aged dramatically once taken from the house. The silverware and plates were badly tarnished, the sword was rusty, and the books were aged and spotted with mold. The crossbow string, left on for display, was stretched out and needed to be replaced with the spare.
The wooden goblets and tarnished silver were completely usable, just a bit gross. Gil hoped that he'd end up in a modern-era setting soon; specifically, somewhere he could buy some bottles of purified vinegar. It was an excellent cleaning agent with a lot of applications that became fairly common in many societies past a certain tech level.
••••••••••
Snow and Ireena were both 18 year old noble girls who didn't fear work, which was enough common ground for them to chat despite their many differences. They didn't particularly like to discuss their respective tormentors, but there was a certain camaraderie that came from fleeing ones world to escape a mad ruler.
"Well that Strahd fellow does sound very unpleasant. I hope not all your suitors are like that." Snow said, working on a hearty stew that would last them a few days, "I've only really met one man who had that kind of thing in mind. He was very kind, but I suppose I'll never see him again now. It would have been nice to experience romance."
"That's a shame," Ireena said, though she glanced at Gil questioningly. He and Snow had slept together the night before. "I'm afraid I didn't have many suitors. Father wanted to be sure I married someone who could take care of me, and scared off a lot of the local boys. There was this one boy from Vallaki he had high hopes for, but apparently Viktor was pledged to another girl. I suppose it's for the best; he didn't seem terribly pleasant in his letters."
"What about you, Master Gilbert?" Snow asked with a perfectly straight face, "have you ever courted someone?"
"Married, actually. Till death did us part," Gil answered with a sigh. "She was in the same line of work as I am, promoted at the same time. Most don't last long. You have to prove yourself constantly, you see. Especially after a big recruitment drive like the one I was picked up in."
Snow looked at him, confused.
"What happened?" Ireena asked, "if you don't mind saying."
"She's with someone else now." Gil answered. "It's part of the job; everything is temporary. I don't want to get into details."
In actual fact, after her demotion Kayklee had been assigned as a tutorial NPC to a paying customer. Some guy who threw himself onto a grenade to save his buddies and got a nice stipend from a benevolent god. He'd chosen to live out his dreams as a fantasy hero with a system, then put himself up for reincarnation when he died of old age. Some random deity needing to populate his world would pick him up in no time.
As a former tester, Kay had been uniquely qualified to assist him. Basic game design says that a player will get attached to an attractive, useful NPC, especially one that they meet early on and can be honest with. The results were extremely predictable. She'd fallen for him, thanks in part to a perk that he'd purchased (and forgot about) to make sure any physical attraction he felt would always be reciprocated.
They'd lived a happy life together, he'd treated her well, and they'd died as an old pair of veterans. From her last letter, Kay had cashed out and gone with him as a destined soulmate. Objectively it was a pretty good deal all around; the god had to take them as a package deal, but that usually wasn't a concern.
Gil didn't resent her, since he'd had a whole damn harem at the time. He didn't even resent the guy. Hero boy didn't steal Kay; he just took his shot with a great woman, probably expecting rejection. Most customers forget half the perks they buy, especially the former mortals who want to feel good about their accomplishments. Most don't want to know that they have an unfair advantage when it comes to learning how to fight; even fewer feel good about knowing they are functionally incapable of completely striking out.
It had hurt Gil more than he expected though, and kinda put him off of cuckoldry. He'd still do it, in the rare situations where he had some kind of legitimate reason, but rubbing it in the guy's face mostly just made him feel dirty these days. He'd actually dipped into his savings to add a pair of no NTR clauses into his contract after that. He didn't want to be cucked, and he didn't want to be required to cuck someone else. Money well spent, even if it set him back a few lifetimes financially.
••••••••••
Rose needed about 24 hours before she felt up to interacting with him again. Once she was available to communicate, Gil focused on teasing out her abilities. It turned out that she could manipulate some physical items fairly easily. Items that she strongly identified with or which she'd used in life routinely, to be specific. The quill from the library, for example, which could even produce ghostly ink. It was easier for her to write than to speak audibly, so the pair defaulted to that while she was still recuperating. She could even wield the sword with enough force to be dangerous. It had the symbol of her house, a windmill, etched into the hilt and to Rose that meant it was as good as a symbol of her inheritance.
Secure communication, combat applications, and information gathering were together more than enough for Rose to merit further investment. Gil dropped a single credit on giving Rose a second anchor. He really hoped that she would latch onto the necklace in her jewelry box, but instead she became bound to her spellbook. It might as well have been a book about dwarven tax law for all the good it did them, at least until Gil spent another 5 credits on letting Rose use magic again. He really wanted to, but as things stood? He'd need to sell Ireena or Snow to make it happen.
On the other hand, Rose's fine control over the book expanded dramatically. She could flip the pages and transform the text freely. While Snow and Ireena bathed on the evening of the second day, Gil learned about what magic was available to purchase.
"Mage Hand, Chill Touch, and Mending are simple spells, and require minimal focus." She explained through the page, "with them I can manipulate small items at a distance, sap the vitality from a target, or perform simple repairs on small damaged objects. I can also summon an invisible servant, analyze magical auras, create fog, or force someone to laugh hysterically."
"What about that spell you tried to use to break down the door?" he asked, "the fire one?"
"The last time I cast Agannazar's Scorcher, it melted off all the flesh on my hands and ultimately killed me." Rose's words formed on the page, "I haven't quite mastered it yet."
"Oh." Gill said. "Well it's all a moot point for now, I suppose. There was one other thing I thought I might ask about. Possession: can you do it?"
"Define the term?"
"Entering a living person's mind or body and directly influencing their actions." Gil said, a bit of excitement creeping into his voice. "It is an extremely powerful and useful ability that many ghosts have, though the details of how it works vary quite a lot."
"How so?"
"Sometimes the effect is extremely minor and limited to observation and verbal suggestions." Gil shrugged. "Sometimes it's so powerful that the ghost can physically remove the target's soul, taking the body for themselves. The ghost may or may not gain access to any of the victim's memories or skills, and the victim may or may not remember anything they did while influenced."
"I see." The words oozed from the book. "I can do something like that. It exhausts me quickly."
"Does it hurt the subject?"
"Not that I've noticed."
••••••••••
"Oh come on, Snow. It'll be a new experience! Besides, we need to see how it affects someone. I know you better than anyone else here."
"It still seems rather extreme a thing to ask." She said, nervously. "You're quite sure it's safe?"
"Rose seems to think so, and I trust her judgement." Gil said. "She says most people barely even notice it happening."
"This is absurd!" Ireena objected. "She clearly doesn't want to do it."
"You could do it first if you'd like." Gil countered. "Or she could possess me, but I don't suppose either of you have any idea how to respond if something goes wrong."
"It's fine, Ireena." Snow said, straightening and crossing her ankles. "I'm perfectly happy to help, I just get nervous at times. I'm actually very curious about how this will work."
Snow's voice, though still high pitched, became slightly more subdued as she spoke. Her posture straightened, and she folded her hands in her lap.
"Thank you, Snow." Gil said, "I'll pay you back for this."
Gil leaned in for a kiss, but Snow placed one hand on his chest and leaned back slightly.
"Another time, perhaps. Speaking of recompense, I'd actually like to know a bit more about maids from all those worlds you've been to." Snow asked, an uncharacteristically calculating look in her eyes. "How are they normally compensated? Are they typically drawn from the ranks of the nobility, or commoners? What is the general career path of such a maid?"
"Maybe we could have that conversation later?" Gil answered nervously. "The middle of a test is no time for a conversation like that."
"I… see." Snow said dryly. "Well, in that case I think I'll play my harp. The test may begin whenever you like."
"Oh?" He asked. "I didn't know you knew how to play."
"Of course. Mother would have whipped me if I didn't master at least one instrument."
Snow shook out her hands as she walked up to the harp and began playing. Her technique was excellent, as if she'd been practicing for all her life. Ireena glared at Gil.
"Snow's mother was a queen, and a cruel one at that. She had her work as a scullery maid, not a minstrel." Ireena hissed at Gil through gritted teeth. "Snow never actually agreed to this. Am I to expect this kind of treatment as well?"
"Don't worry about it." Gil said, sidestepping the question. "Don't you realize the implications? Rose can lend us her education and skills. That's worth quite a lot. I think you're being fairly close minded about this."
"Forgive me for not wanting me or my friend to be possessed!" Ireena growled.
Snow finished the song, then abruptly looked at her fingers. They were red and irritated, unused to playing any kind of stringed instrument.
"Oh my." She said softly, a smile spreading across her face, "well thank you, miss Rosevalda. That was lovely."
Gil smirked at Ireena, who continued to frown. She went to check on snow, while Gil looked down at the book in front of him.
"Give me an hour or so." It wrote. "If you want Miss Kolyana to trust you, I think you'll need to go next. Incidentally, you may have somehow convinced that girl to become some kind of Tergish concubine, but I am a lady."
"Sorry. It was just a test." Gil lied smoothly. "Something that Snow would do without a second thought, but you wouldn't. Anyway, maybe you could also manifest and join us for dinner? She might trust you more if she gets to know you."
"Surely." Rose wrote, "Clearly it is I who she distrusts."
•••••
Bonus segment: we aren't done on the skyblock yet, but I don't particularly want to explain how a new type of item works at the same time as I reveal the next world and missions (including a new mission format). As such, here's an explanation for what the duck a character card is.
Character Card: these cards contain the profile of a character currently found within the Catalog. They can be used in one of three ways, all of which will destroy the card.
They may be used when selling a retinue member to transform that retinue member into the depicted character while maintaining their memories and core personality. This will (at minimum) fully remove their current powers and skillset and replace them with internalized versions of the canon abilities of the target. At your discretion, you may also alter their physical appearance, trading away their normal form completely or creating a hybrid. (You still receive full value for selling the character, even if their tier is raised.)You may use the card to apply one trait that the character has to a retinue member. This may be a physical trait (such as age, species, or breast size), a noteworthy skill/power, or a tag (such as Evil, Female, or bisexual). This can alter the character's abilities but can not push them above their current (not initial) tier, as such some powers may be dramatically weakened. As an extreme example, a god's absolute immortality may be reduced to mere agelessness if granted to a T1 character. You may summon the character, in their depicted form, to assist you for 24 hours. During this time they will serve you with complete loyalty and devotion, even throwing away their lives if you wish it. Afterwards, they will vanish, taking any of their equipment with them.