“Why are you still out here? I was expecting you to be back at my estate resting.”
Shawn turned to find Anisha approaching the riverside bench from behind. Her black and red armor had been replaced by a simple brown military shirt and loose-fitting pants. Her matted brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail behind her head. Though they were both covered with a layer of dirt and grime from a long night of fighting, Shawn had to admit that Anisha wore it better than he did.
“Just watching the cleanup efforts.” Shawn nodded his head across the river at the columns of smoke. “How did handing over the necromancer go?”
“Surprisingly fast.” Anisha sighed and sat down next to Shawn. “Turns out his name is Landor Nox. Magic user loosely sponsored by the military to push the boundaries of magic.”
“Loosely?” Shawn scoffed. “The interaction we witnessed at the train station the other day looked like a common occurrence. Not to mention all of the deliveries to his ‘house’ that Kaylish mentioned.”
Anisha shook her head. “They’re already working to remove any evidence that the military was ever directly involved with Landor. The general public will just be told that he was a rogue magic user conducting illegal experimentation on his own.”
“Can’t say I’m surprised.” Shawn sighed as his gaze returned to the destruction over the river. “No one would want to be responsible for this.”
Anisha nodded but fell silent. Shawn glanced at her face and could tell that she had a lot on her mind.
“Everything okay?” He gently prompted.
“Yeah.” She let out a deep breath. “My father used to complain about the ethics of some of the research projects the military was conducting. He could never tell us what they were but… I never really imagined it would be so…”
“Monstrous?” Shawn suggested.
“The Kaydian Empire represents humanity as a whole. We’ve been slowly losing this war, but I always assumed we would find a way to win in the end because we had the divine’s blessing and righteous might. But if we’re really capable of such atrocities...” Anisha placed her chin in her hands and her elbows on her knees. “I don’t know what to think now.”
Shawn placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m not saying what they were doing was right, but a drowning person will drag someone else down to try and keep themselves afloat. It’s not right, but they’re drowning. All thoughts turn to survival and morals tend to be left behind.”
“Do you know what the shipments sent to the necromancer were?” Anisha asked quietly.
Shawn winced. Deliveries were typically materials, and there’s really only one material a necromancer needed.
“Bodies?”
Anisha nodded. “Fallen soldiers from the front. It’s not enough for them to die for the empire, they weren’t even given peace in a grave.”
Shawn didn’t answer. He didn’t know what he could say. Anisha had every right to be disgusted with her government. Shawn was too. There wasn’t much good to take away from this situation. After a few minutes of silence, Anisha straightened herself on the bench and turned her body towards Shawn.
“You never fully answered my question, Shawn. Why are you here? What do you hope to accomplish?”
Shawn sighed. He had been thinking long and hard about that very question ever since Anisha brought it up the night prior.
“I didn’t lie to Kaylish.” Shawn began. “I came here with only the intention of helping people.”
Anisha nodded but didn’t break away. “How do you hope to accomplish that?”
Shawn’s mind was cast to the west where hundreds of miles of trenches were filled with terrified soldiers. He thought about the country they represented, which was growing desperate enough to allow terrible experiments using their own dead as materials. The wave of side quests, a lot of which involved loved ones fighting on one front or another. If Shawn was seriously considering the best way to help the people of this world, there was really only one goal that he could consider.
“I’m going to end the war.” Shawn announced aloud.
A chime sounded in his ears.
Main Quest Issued: The War to End All Wars.
There was no description, no objectives given, but Shawn felt a warmth inside like he had passed some sort of test. Anisha’s brown eyes widened slightly.
“I’ll repeat my question, how do you hope to accomplish that?”
Shawn laughed. “Well, I suppose the first step would be to get stronger. I don’t think I can accomplish much at my current level.”
Anisha nodded slowly but didn’t respond.
“It would…” Shawn felt his face flush.
If he was being honest, Shawn expected Anisha to announce that she would assist him on his quest. Her silence dug into Shawn’s confidence deeply.
“It would help a lot,” Shawn cleared his throat and fumbled his hands in a weird gesture. “If you’d consider… coming with me.”
“Trade one fractured ideal for one made of glass?” Anisha raised a single eyebrow, her face impassive.
Her words cut straight through Shawn’s hope, but he couldn’t blame her.
“Maybe my goal is made of glass. Maybe it is foolhardy and won’t end up amounting to anything.” Shawn’s voice was firm and bold as he continued to speak his mind. “I wasn’t sent by the divine, I chose to come here. I can’t rely on some concept like, ‘this quest is my destiny’ or anything like that. This decision is mine and mine alone. Odds are that I will fail.”
A smile tugged at Anisha’s lips.
“You’re not selling yourself very well.”
Shawn grinned. “Maybe not. But I wouldn’t want you to come with me expecting anything less. I’m going to do what I think is right, even if it kills me a second time.”
The familiar chime sounded in Shawn’s ears.
Hidden Charisma Opportunity passed.
“All right Shawn.” Anisha said with a smile. “I don’t know how I’m going to get permission to travel with you, but I promise I’ll see this quest of yours through to the end.”
A quest has been issued: Unwavering Loyalty, The Path Less Traveled By.
This quest is part of a line of quests. Failing to complete one will result in the failure of the rest of the questline. Anisha Goldrin is required for the quest progression. Refusing her access to your party will result in an automatic failure.
Shawn’s eyes widened as he quickly read the notification. The title, ‘unwavering loyalty’, was the same as the quest issued for Kaylish.
“What did I do?” Anisha’s face was etched with concern. “You’ve got that look whenever you’re looking at the game stuff.”
“Oh,” Shawn felt his face flush at being so easy to read. “Yeah, it was just, the conversation we had and you agreeing to join my party gave me a quest.”
Both of Anisha’s eyebrows lifted. “A quest? About what?”
“You?” Shawn grimaced as he spoke. “It’s similar to the one I received about Kaylish and I’m starting to think they are loyalty quests.”
“My loyalty? To you?” Her eyes narrowed with suspicion.
“Not like that.” Shawn waved his hands defensively. “Think of it more like a quest to earn your trust. It looks like something I’ll get any time someone wants to travel with me.”
“Oh, that’s all right I guess.” Anisha’s suspicion faded. “Why was Kaylish’s quest so quick? You and I have known each other longer than she has.”
Shawn thought he detected a hint of jealousy in Anisha’s voice but brushed it off.
“I don’t know.” He answered honestly. “I think that answer is going to take time. We’ll have to get to know her better.”
“Speaking of which.” Anisha glanced around. “Where is she?”
“Reservist HQ.” Shawn pointed over his shoulder, further into the North end of the city. “She said she was going to get transferred under my command. When I reminded her that I wasn’t actually a member of the military, she just smiled and told me not to worry about it.”
Anisha shot him an incredulous look. “There’s no way they’ll let her do that.”
Shawn shrugged. “There’s no way they’ll let you travel with me either, right?”
Anisha nodded begrudgingly.
“We’ll cross that bridge later. There’s something I want to do before we go back to your estate.” Shawn announced.
He stood up and tested out his injured leg. There was still a pang of discomfort, but it wasn’t going to stop him from walking.
“Where to?” Anisha rose from the bench and stretched her arms over her head.
“The church of the divine.” Shawn tapped his own head. “We were going to see if they knew anything about travelers such as myself before we got sidetracked.”
A flicker of recognition passed through Anisha’s eyes.
“I completely forgot.” She spun in place and pointed to the west. “The church is this way, come on.”
The pair set off to a place Shawn hoped would hold at least a few answers for him.
Paypal
