Zareth let out a groan of frustration as he mulled over his options and carefully studied the large book in front of him.
The Grimoire of Cerebon was wrapped in dark leather and contained a wealth of knowledge about his Class and the Skills it offered him. Despite this, Zareth didn’t feel like he was any closer to reaching a solution to his conundrum.
It had been several days since he had reached Level 20, and he’d only managed to decide on a single one of his three Skill points. Now while he was waiting in the back office of his makeshift temple for his next appointment to arrive, Zareth hoped that he would suddenly receive some divine inspiration on the best path forward. Unfortunately, Cerebon rarely paid any attention to him unless he was performing a ritual.
It’s a whole lot easier to make these kinds of decisions when it’s just in a video game and not a life altering moment, Zareth thought ruefully. His choices had been pretty obvious for his past two Skill points, but that wasn’t the case now.
After another few minutes of indecision, Zareth decided to seek a new perspective. “Hey, Rizok. any advice on how I should spend my last two Skill points? I’ve gotten stuck on this and need another opinion.”
Zareth turned to his companion, who was sitting in a chair near the entrance to the office and reading a book on historical wars. The first time Zareth had seen Rizok after acquiring [Devotion Perception], he was unsurprised to sense that the lizardkin worshiped no gods. Rizok had already made it clear early on that he wasn’t interested in being a member of his Cult or any others.
“Are you certain that you want to ask me, sir?” asked Rizok, sounding mildly surprised. The details of a person's Status were an incredibly personal thing and were the sort of thing people usually did with their family.
Unfortunately, Zareth didn’t have a family or any close friends, so the best he could do was his government assigned bodyguard.
“I don’t see why not,” Zareth said, shrugging slightly. There wasn’t anything about his Status that needed to be hidden. “It’s definitely better than me just waffling back and forth.”
He could tell that Rizok was somewhat taken aback by his request, but the lizardkin was quick to agree. “Very well. Then please explain your current abilities as well as your options so that I can give an informed opinion, sir.”
Zareth called upon his Status and gave it a quick once over to refresh his memory. The System didn’t give people a convenient panel for them to look at. Instead, it transferred the information directly into their mind, so Zareth was forced to slowly explain. Paper in Tal’Qamar was not so cheap that he could afford to waste it on something he could just share verbally.
Name: Zareth
Class(s): Cultist Level 20
Stats:
Strength - 16
Vitality - 18
Agility - 16
Spirit - 29
Willpower - 24
Control - 24
Active Skills:
Corrode Flesh
Deaden Nerves
Permanent Flesh Manipulation
Minor Purify Flesh
Ritual of Offering
Passive Skills:
Magical Perception
Flesh Perception
Cerebon’s Boon
Aesthetic Intuition
Devotion Perception
Veterinary Knowledge
Zareth didn’t actually reveal that the System offered him [Veterinary Knowledge]. Such a Skill was only offered to him due to his past life, and it would seem very out of place if anyone knew about it. The System generally only offered Skills unrelated to a person’s Class when they possessed unique or highly specialized experiences.
After a few moments of consideration, Rizok decided to ask for clarification. “The functions of these Skills are all fairly obvious aside from [Minor Purify Flesh]. How does that Skill work?”
Zareth leaned back in his chair and hummed thoughtfully as he explained. “I acquired that Skill back when I first became a Cultist. It removes minor diseases and sicknesses from a person’s body. It has a single option for Skill Evolution called [Purify Flesh] that just does it a bit better and can affect magical ailments as well.”
Unfortunately, the only Skill evolutions available to him were for [Minor Purify Flesh] and [Flesh Perception]. Evolving Skills took much more effort than simply purchasing a new one, as they tended to have more stringent or unique prerequisites before they could be learned. For example, the Grimoire of Cerebon told him that he could upgrade [Corrode Flesh] into [Corrosive Bolt] if he either used it very often or managed to acquire [Proficiency - Flesh Magic].
Sadly, it would take a significant amount of time learning from a capable teacher before the System would offer that Skill to him. There was a reason that few people in this world studied the fundamentals of magic and actually became a [Mage].
“I see… while such a Skill would be useful, I imagine you’re not particularly interested in becoming a healer?” Rizok asked, before continuing when Zareth confirmed his assumptions. “In that case, what new Skills has the System made available?”
Zareth took a few more moments to verbally explain the Skills that the System was offering him. He was somewhat glad that there was nothing new, or Zareth would have been even more paralyzed with indecision.
Available Skills:
Active:
Minor Blessing of Cerebon - Temporarily bestow a lesser version of Cerebon’s Boon to an individual regardless of their devotion. Grants slight increase to physical stats and regeneration. Also allows the [Cultist] to bless objects to provide temporary enchantments. This path leads to further skills related to the bestowal of blessings and curses. +2 Spirit. +1 Willpower. +1 Control.
Minor Siphon Vitality - Temporarily lowers the Vitality of the target while increasing your own. Effect increases over time. This path leads to further skills related to the manipulation of stats. +1 Spirit. +2 Willpower. +1 Control.
Create Lesser Flesh Golem - Allows for the creation of a small flesh golem, a simple construct with limited intelligence. Physical abilities vary with materials used for construction. This path leads to further skills related to the creation and modification of artificial beings. +1 Spirit. +1 Willpower. +2 Control.
Passive:
Malleable Flesh - Increases the flexibility and elasticity of your own flesh, significantly enhancing the ability for one to modify themselves through Flesh Magic. This path leads to further skills related to personal augmentation. +1 Strength. +2 Vitality. +1 Agility.
Deceptive Presence - Allows the user to subtly control how others perceive their actions and motives. This skill can be used to make the [Cultist] seem less threatening, more trustworthy, or simply uninteresting to prying eyes. This path leads to further skills related to interpersonal manipulation and mental influences. +1 Spirit +2 Willpower. +1 Control.
Rizok seemed very interested as Zareth listed all of the Skills and their descriptions. His Skills weren’t exactly common, so this was probably Rizok’s first time hearing about them. However,
“Right now, I’m mostly split between [Malleable Flesh] or [Create Lesser Flesh Golem] for self-defense,” Zareth continued once he finished detailing all of his new potential Skills. “I’m also considering [Deceptive Presence] and [Minor Blessing of Cerebon] to help out with my Cult. What do you think?”
Zareth wished that he could just invest more in Skills that would benefit his Cult as much as possible, but that would be a short-sighted decision. The Conclave would retaliate against the city’s new government someday, and he fully intended to invest in Skills that would allow him to survive when that happened.
“Focusing on self-defense first, I would recommend [Malleable Flesh] over the alternative,” Rizok said after a few moments of consideration.
“Oh, why is that?” Zareth asked curiously. He had been leaning toward the other option, so he was eager to hear the soldier’s explanation. “With [Create Lesser Flesh Golem], I could have a meat shield to jump in between me and any attackers. Plus, it’d be useful for manual labor and give more useful Stats. The future Evolutions are really strong as well.”
The Grimoire of Cerebon gave several examples of what a high Level individual could do with flesh golems, and he was very impressed.
“Sir, you already have a meat shield to stand behind,” Rizok deadpanned, obviously referring to himself. “It will be quite some time before you are able to make a golem powerful enough to deter any competent [Assassin]. They would simply use their Skills to maneuver around your creation and attack you directly. [Malleable Flesh] on the other hand would allow you to survive long enough for me to intervene, while also offering more adaptability to unforeseen situations.”
Zareth thought about it and realized that Rizok might have a point. Many of [Malleable Flesh]’s future evolutions offered him tools that would make him very difficult to kill, which was the most important consideration.
More Control would allow him to make more precise changes with his [Permanent Flesh Manipulation] and Willpower would allow him to use Skills longer without getting tired. However, the physical stats from [Malleable Flesh] would be nice in his everyday life.
“Alright, what about [Deceptive Presence] and [Minor Blessing of Cerebon]?” Zareth asked. The soldier obviously knew a lot about combat and self-defense, but he probably didn’t know as much about cult management. “The benefits of the first are obvious, but the latter will be useful for recruitment as well since it’d give me another service that I could offer.”
Rizok was much quicker to answer this time. “[Deceptive Presence] is obviously significantly better for the purpose of recruiting people, but there’s one factor that makes it unviable. Such a Skill would be illegal to use in many foreign nations and would cause significant issues if you were caught doing so.”
Zareth could feel his eyes widen at that information. He’d heard that some foreigners got a bit wary when it came to mental Skills, but not to the point of actually making them illegal. The [Merchants] in Tal’Qamar used Skills like [Charismatic Speech] all of the time to get better deals after all.
“Really? Where?” Zareth asked.
"The savages of the Frozen Fjords would kill you without hesitation if you used such a Skill on them," Rizok answered, his eyes distant as if lost in a memory. "We fought against them when they started raiding the territory of some [Duke] from one of the northern kingdoms. The folks there didn't seem too accepting of mental Skills either. I've gotten the impression that Tal'Qamar is an exception in that regard."
That was surprising to hear, but made sense once Zareth began to think about it. The [Merchant Lord] had likely possessed many mind-altering Skills and wouldn't want to promote a culture that limited his options.
Zareth could probably get away with using [Deceptive Presence] in Tal’Qamar, but there were many people from foreign cultures that passed through the city. He also had ambitions of one day spreading the Cult of Cerebon beyond just this city, so these were factors that he had to consider.
“I suppose [Minor Blessing of Cerebon] would be the better choice then,” Zareth said thoughtfully. “I’ll be able to give permanent blessings to objects once I upgrade the Skill. I’ll probably never be as good or versatile as a dedicated [Enchanter], but blessings can still become pretty strong.”
Rizok nodded in agreement. “That seems wise, sir.”
Zareth considered his options for a few more moments to make sure he wasn’t making a mistake, but eventually decided that he’d hesitated long enough.
[Minor Blessing of Cerebon] has been acquired!
[Malleable Flesh] has been acquired!
Zareth immediately felt a wave of energy flow through him as all of his Stats were raised. The sensation was even stronger than normal as [Malleable Flesh] began to take effect and reform his body. Zareth could instinctively sense that he would be able to reshape his body in all sorts of new ways, and he felt a powerful urge to experiment with it. However, it would be quicker to test the other one first.
After receiving his consent, Zareth didn’t hesitate to use [Minor Blessing of Cerebon] on Rizok. The feeling of the Skill was similar to when he performed his rituals, as a sliver of Cerebon’s power seemed to flow through him and into his companion. Rizok let out a gasp as he began to glow with soft golden light.
Once the blessing was complete, Zareth watched as Rizok threw out a few punches faster than his eyes could reliably track. “This is stronger than I expected, sir. My Strength and Agility have both increased by two while my Vitality has increased by three. This effect is at least as powerful as a weaker enchanted item.”
Zareth repeated the experiment by blessing his knife. Once he was done, the blade was now glowing and he instinctively knew that it now carried a minor effect that would slowly decompose the flesh of anyone he considered an enemy.
“The strength of the blessing depends on Spirit, which is the highest of my Stats,” Zareth explained, feeling proud that he had managed to impress the experienced soldier. “I gave the strongest blessing to you that I could. Glad to see that it’s useful.”
As Rizok continued to test out his increased Stats, Zareth decided to begin testing out the new abilities of his body. Before he had acquired [Malleable Flesh], Zareth could only alter his body slightly more than he could modify another person’s. Now, his body felt like clay that he could form and reform at will.
Zareth raised his hand and watched in fascination as the skin of his palm split open and revealed a fanged maw dripping with venom. Within only a few moments, Zareth had grown the venom sac of a Qahtani Sand Viper within his wrist and connected it to the newly formed mouth. Feeling the urge to see how far he could push it, Zareth slowly grew a scorpion stinger within his hand-mouth that could spring out and deliver lethal venom to any attacker.
“Awesome,” Zareth murmured as he continued his experiments. He could see that Rizok seemed a bit grossed out by the grotesque display, but he wasn’t particularly concerned. “This venom is powerful enough to kill anyone with less than 28 Vitality, so long as they don’t have any anti-venom Skills or get any healing. Seems like a pretty decent way to protect myself, no?”
The Qahtani Sand Viper was one of the most common snakes in the Qahtani desert, so it wasn’t difficult to purchase one and study its venom. Zareth couldn’t wait for the Adventurers to return with the creature’s he’d sent them to acquire.
“Yes, sir,” Rizok agreed despite his disgust. “Just… is there a way to make it less conspicuous?”
Zareth had to admit that would probably be a good idea. The people of this world had a very high tolerance for strange and unusual things, but there was probably a limit. Something that could be hidden would most likely be preferable. Zareth got rid of his hand-mouth-stinger and just decided to just sharpen his nails a bit and connect the tiny venom sac to those.
The hardest part was forming the muscles that would contract and push the venom through the small holes in his nails, but he managed to add in the small delicate muscles into the tips of his fingers.
“Okay, [Malleable Flesh] is much more useful than I expected,” Zareth decided as he studied the results of his efforts. “Definitely gives me something to experiment with while I wait for the next appointment to arrive.”
As expected, Zareth saw Rizok’s expression immediately darken at the mention of their approaching meeting. His mention had been deliberate, as Zareth wanted to confront the matter before they arrived.
“Rizok, do you have something you would like to say?” Zareth asked calmly, looking the lizardkin directly in his eyes. “If you do, it’s important that you do so before they arrive.”
Rizok paused and clenched his teeth before answering. “I don’t like that you’re meeting with criminals, sir. It’s not something that someone of your position should be doing.”
That was about what he had been expecting. For someone who had only ever served as a lawful member of society, the idea of peacefully speaking with criminals was probably an affront.
“You know that this whole thing is High Command’s idea to begin with, right?” Zareth asked, trying to convince Rizok. The last thing he wanted was for there to be friction between him and the person responsible for keeping him alive. “They’re the ones who want to leverage my past and form a relationship with one of the less dangerous gangs. If we can convince them to feed us information, it’ll help High Command learn more about the other gangs and Conclave activity in the city. All I did was agree to their proposal.”
Organized crime was pervasive in the city and the military was likely unfamiliar with the gangs due to them frequently being sent away from Tal’Qamar on contracts. Now that the military had taken over the government, they would want to know about everything that went on in their territory. If Zareth could offer that information, then he would become an asset High Command would be hard pressed to replace.
It was a risky plan, but Zareth felt like he knew how the gangs operated well enough to avoid antagonizing anyone actually dangerous.
“That you have the blessing of High Command is the only reason I’ve kept my silence,” Riziok admitted, his tone strained. “However, I still believe that this to be the wrong course of action. A person who has failed to adhere to basic laws cannot be trusted to adhere to any agreement that you make with them. It’s also an unnecessary risk to your safety when this could be handled by a member of the military.”
Nothing that Rizok said was necessarily wrong in Zareth’s opinion, but the lizardkin simply didn’t know as much as he did about the situation. He knew more about the criminals of this city than any member of the military, and would be well-positioned to determine if he was being fed garbage information.
Since Rizok didn’t know that, the best thing he could do was simply explain.
“How much do you know about my past?” Zareth asked curiously. “I assume your superiors must have given you a briefing before you were assigned to me.”
This would be a good way to figure out what High Command knew as well.
“I was told that you were once a member of some minor criminal group before having a public falling out with them and becoming a [Cultist],” Rizok said reluctantly.
Zareth was surprised that High Command knew so little about him. Whatever intelligence services they had used must've been even worse than he had expected. If Rizok was going to be by his side for the indefinite future, then it probably made sense to share a bit about himself and build a rapport with the lizardkin.
“Then I suppose I should start from the beginning,” Zareth said as he leaned back in his chair. “As you know, I grew up on the streets of the Sunrise Slums and had been there for as long as I could recall. I’ve been told that I was left on the streets by some old lizardkin woman, who must have been my caretaker, but I can’t remember any of that.”
His first few years after reincarnating in this world had been absolutely incomprehensible to Zareth. His brain had been incapable of processing his old memories, and nothing had made any sense to him. Zareth hadn’t really understood that he had been reincarnated until well after he had been thrown onto the streets.
“After that, the System assigned me [Street Urchin] as a Preparatory Class, and I survived mostly by begging for food from Gurza and eventually by stealing,” Zareth continued, ignoring the hint of sympathy he could see in the soldier’s eyes.
Preparatory Classes were Classes that were given to underaged individuals before they reached the age of majority for their species and culture. They had the advantage of allowing a person to easily switch their Class later on in life without any consequences, which Zareth had taken advantage of when he became a [Cultist].
“I didn’t have many friends back then. I was always just too… weird,” Zareth said awkwardly. His memories of his past life always made him seem strange and uncanny when he was a kid. “I eventually fell in with a minor gang that called themselves the Phantom Scorpions. Many of them were from the same background as I, and we had grown pretty close. I even began to see some of them as family.”
It was a bit of a silly name, but criminals weren’t exactly known for their creativity. Zareth tried to hide the emotion in his voice as he thought back on his time with the Phantom Scorpions. He remembered moments when he used to give tips to some of the younger kids, such as which of the [Guardsmen] were too lazy to chase a pickpocket or the best places to hide from the desert sun.
The younger kids were generally kept away from the worst of the gang’s activities, so Zareth could pretend that he wasn’t actually hurting anyone and was just doing what he needed to survive.
There was a time when Zareth dreamed about becoming a high Level [Thief] and acting like Robin Hood. He would use the coins he gained from the wealthy [Merchants] to feed every kid in the Sunrise Slums and just make the world a better place.
Of course, that naivete disappeared quickly once he approached his age of majority, and the older criminals started showing him the darker side of what they got up to.
“What happened?” asked Rizok, clearly invested in his story.
The question pulled Zareth out of his wandering thoughts and he quickly got back on track. “To make a long story short, I eventually decided that I didn’t want to take a criminal Class like [Thief] or [Smuggler] once I became of age. After a traveler gave me the Grimoire of Cerebon and offered me the chance to become a [Cultist] instead, I began trying to distance myself from the Phantom Scorpions.”
Zareth had known that if he didn’t get out before he became of age, then he never would. The System was great for many things, but it also had a way of locking people onto a certain path.
“I eventually shared my intentions with my closest friend in the gang, Aldarim,” Zareth said tonelessly. He had come to view Aldarim as something like a younger brother by then and had wanted the two of them to become [Cultists] together. “That turned out to be a mistake. He told the leader of the gang that I didn’t want to be a criminal, which eventually led to me being beaten within an inch of my life.”
He knew that Aldarim probably just wanted for him to be scared straight or brought back into the fold, but Zareth didn’t really care. The gang leader’s right hand man had been a high leveled [Thug], who had plenty of Skills just for hurting someone. That had been the most terrifying moment of either of his lives, and he would still be covered in scars if Cerebon had not happened to be the God of Flesh.
The fact that it came as a result of someone he trusted betraying his confidence only made it worse.
After that, Zareth had lost any naivete he carried over from his relatively peaceful first life. He resolved to take any advantage that he could and grasp power whenever it was offered to him. Anything, so long as he never felt that helpless again.
When Zareth turned his attention back to Rizok, he could see a surprising amount of anger in the lizardkin’s eyes.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that. I wouldn’t react well if one of my squadmates betrayed me like that,” Rizok said with an amount of empathy that was surprising for the normally stoic soldier.
Zareth had never actually heard anyone express sympathy for that before. It was a bit surprising and momentarily left him at a loss for words.
“It’s… it’s fine,” Zareth said finally, not entirely sure how to respond. “I didn't tell you that story for pity. I just want you to understand that I, out of anyone in this city, understand that these criminals aren’t to be trusted. The reason that I agreed to High Command’s request was so that I could make myself useful and help them clean up Tal’Qamar.”
The fact that High Command had promised to reward him well for his efforts didn’t hurt either.
Rizok opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a knock on the door to the office. Once Zareth called for them to enter, he was greeted by the sight of a nervous looking human boy. Tamir was a teenager sent to him by Gurza to help him around the temple. She wanted to get the kid off the street, and giving him an actual job was the best way to do that.
“Hey boss, a couple of guys wearing headscarves came to the temple and are sayin’ you’re expecting them? They’re waitin’ in the main hall,” Tamir said cautiously, peeking his head through the door.
After taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Zareth nodded to the kid. “Thank you, Tamir. You can send them here.”
Tamir nodded and left without another word while Rizok made his way over to stand guard by Zareth’s desk. The lizardkin made for an intimidating figure, wearing the crimson cloak of the Tal’Qamari military over expensive steel armor and a longsword sheathed at his waist.
Zareth was only slightly surprised when a female lizardkin dressed in nondescript clothing and hiding her face behind a headdress angrily pushed open the door and began storming up to him while shouting. “Who do you think you are, bastard?! I should gut you li—”
The woman stopped her tirade the moment she noticed the sword sitting across her throat. Rizok had moved so fast that Zareth had barely been able to see him move.
“Keep your distance, criminal,” said Rizok, his voice colder than Zareth had ever heard. “I suggest you remember your place and reconsider how you speak.”
Zareth took a moment to observe the woman who he hadn’t seen for several years now. She was abnormally tall for a female lizardkin, standing at over six feet tall, and possessed emerald scales that were chipped and broken in many places. Coupled with the fiery spark in her eyes and the large portion of her tail that was missing, it was obvious that she hadn’t lived a peaceful life.
“Hello, Saless. It’s good to see you again,” Zareth lied, pasting a confident smile on his face. He knew that he couldn’t afford to show any signs of weakness in front of her. “It’s been a few years, hasn’t it?”
Zareth found it much harder to hold his smile when he saw two more people walk into the room.
One of them was a petite human woman who looked nothing like most criminals, with dark and smooth skin unblemished by any scars and soft eyes that seemed to calm anyone who looked into them. Now that Zareth had a much higher Willpower Stat than when he had last seen her, he could conclude without any doubts that such an effect was the result of a Skill, as it seemed weaker than he remembered.
The other was also a human, a young man who he had definitely not expected to see. As he removed his headscarf, Zareth could see that he had short copper hair along with pale skin that marked him as out of place in Tal’Qamar. He wore an awkward expression, and his gaze was darting everywhere in the room aside from Zareth.
“Let’s not get carried away there big guy,” said the petite woman, her voice completely calm. “I’m sure my friend here didn’t mean anything by it. We’re just a bit tense cause all of this happened quite suddenly.”
When Zareth responded, he found his tone coming out far harsher than he had intended. “Your friend should learn some manners, and remember that she’s not in some back alley. We aren’t close enough anymore that I’ll tolerate people threatening me in my temple, Mera. Especially when they bring along people who they were specifically told to leave behind.”
Saless glared at him from several feet away, Rizok’s blade still at her neck. “That was before you sent people to break into our home and leave behind threatening letters! Tharkun must have smashed your head in worse than I believed if you thought we’d leave Aldarim behind after the shit you pulled, brat!”
After High Command came to him with their proposal, they asked Zareth to identify a few criminals that they could recruit as informants. Tal’Qamar had a weak rule of law for people without wealth, so any criminal who he named could either choose between cooperation or prison.
A small part of Zareth felt guilty over using his old connections like that, but not enough to stop him from doing so. It seemed like High Command had decided to threaten Saless by leaving a letter in her home, which unsurprisingly didn’t go over well. He had chosen to name Saless for many reasons, but a calm disposition certainly wasn’t one of them. Spitefully bringing Aldarim along despite his request was exactly the sort of thing that she would do.
“Please have a seat,” Zareth said as he gestured for Rizok to lower his blade. The soldier reluctantly did so and moved back to his previous position. “I’m afraid you’ll need to stand… Aldarim. I wasn’t expecting to see you and only prepared two seats for this meeting.”
Saless seemed like she wanted to continue shouting at him, but Mera calmed her down with a few whispered words, and the two of them took a seat. Aldarim continued to stand awkwardly by the door, looking like he wanted to disappear.
“Let's get to the point,” Zareth began, deciding he wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. His first plan had been to coax them gently with nice words, but now he no longer had the patience for that. “You’ve heard that I work for the new guys in charge of the city. They want to keep an eye on what the gangs are up to, so I pointed them in your direction. Help with this and you’ll be rewarded. Refuse and you’ll go to prison. What’ll it be?”
Mera was the first to speak, interrupting whatever vitriolic nonsense was about to come out of Saless’ mouth. “You’re putting us in a bit of a difficult position, Zareth. What you’re asking for us to do is quite dangerous after all. If we get caught, then we’ll face far worse than prison. Certainly you can see why we would be reluctant?”
Zareth snorted in amusement. Mera was always the smartest of the pair and would have already realized that they have no choice. Right now, she was just angling for the best compensation that she could.
“High Command has offered to pay well for any information you can get,” Zareth said bluntly, doing his best to keep his voice as neutral as possible. “What you get will depend on what you can offer. They’re particularly interested in any Conclave activity and the identity of any high leveled [Smuggler] capable of bypassing their blockade. Trust me when I say that you’ll get a lot of gold if you manage to find anything related to those subjects. I can also offer you my services as a healer.”
Zareth had no doubt that they were already well aware of what he could do, so he felt no reason to explain.
Mera frowned and considered the offer, her gaze far away. She was likely calculating the level of risk, the chances of her getting caught, and the possible profits. The other two kept silent while she thought, obviously used to allowing her to make the decisions. Zareth patiently kept quiet as well. It would do no good to rush things at this point.
Finally, Mera looked at him directly and spoke with a decisiveness that told him she wouldn’t be changing her mind. “We’re willing to consider your offer, but there are a few guarantees that we need first.”
Zareth scowled in annoyance. While he had far more leverage in this negotiation than they did, he still needed their willing cooperation. If he didn’t have it, then they would likely just smile and agree before disappearing from Tal’Qamar forever. Mera was smart enough to make that happen.
“And what guarantees are those?” Zareth asked, leaning back in his chair.
“I want an official pardon for all our previous crimes, signed by General Nasrith and written by an [Oathscribe],” said Mera, her voice calm and smooth. “If we’re going to do this, then I don’t want the military holding our past against us for the rest of our lives. I’m sure you can understand.”
Zareth took a moment to consider her demand. [Oathscribe] was a rare evolution of [Scribe] who could create documents capable of manifesting all sorts of effects. If General Nasrith was to sign such a document, then he would face rather dire consequences if he went back on his word.
“That isn’t something that I have the authority to promise,” Zareth said honestly. He didn’t have a good enough read on General Nasrith to know how he would react. “But I can relay your conditions to High Command. I think they’ll be open to the idea of pardoning the two of you, so long as you two agree to bind yourself to providing the information we’ve asked for in return.”
Saless crossed her arms, her expression full of skepticism. “Yeah, you get back to us on that. Now what about the boy? He needs to be included in this too.”
She gestured to Aldarim, who looked as if he wanted to melt into the wall.
“He wasn’t supposed to be here,” Zareth said tersely, ignoring the hurt that flashed in Aldarim’s eyes. “He doesn’t have anything to do with this. He should have stayed behind, as I requested.”
“He already knows about this, so he’s involved whether you like it or not,” Saless countered smugly.
Zareth frowned deeply. He had no desire to deal with Aldarim, and he found himself thoroughly annoyed with Saless’ insistence. Just as he was about to rebuff her once again, he was interrupted by a voice that he hadn’t heard in years.
“Zareth, I know my word ain’t gonna mean much to you nowadays,” said Aldarim, speaking up for the first time since he entered the room. His voice was deeper and much more serious than he remembered. “But… I swear I’m not gonna screw anything up for you guys. I got pretty close with Mera and Saless after you left, and I just wanna help. I’m willin’ to agree to any terms you make.”
There was a degree of hesitance in Aldarim’s voice that Zareth didn’t expect. The boy he once viewed as a little brother was always cocky and sure of himself.
After taking a moment to consider things rationally, Zareth realized that he didn’t have much choice. If Aldarim wasn’t involved, then he was just a loose end that ran the risk of causing problems in the future.
“You’re right, your word doesn’t mean much of anything,” Zareth said spitefully before taking a deep breath and forcing himself to calm down. “But I’ll bring this up to High Command. So long as you sign an Oath guaranteeing that you keep this a secret, then I don’t have any problems with this.”
Zareth ignored Aldarim’s grateful smile as he turned back to Mera and began discussing the finer details of their cooperation. There wasn’t much that they could talk about until Zareth spoke with High Command, so their meeting didn’t last much longer than that.
Mera offered Zareth a sad smile as she rose from her seat and prepared to leave. “Despite everything, I’m glad I got to see you again… it’s good to see that you’re doing well for yourself. None of us knew how far Tharkun was going to go that night.”
Zareth wasn’t particularly interested in hearing apologies only offered when they had every incentive to give them. While he hadn’t been as close with Mera and Saless as he was with Aldarim, Zareth had still considered them friends. They never did anything to contact him after he left the gang, which was enough to show their priorities.
“Goodbye, Mera,” Zareth said, unwilling to add any more to their conversation.
Much to his relief, Mera didn’t bother to say anything else and merely nodded before making her way to the exit, Saless following behind her. Aldarim hesitated by the door as if he wanted to say something, but Zareth merely glared at him until he left as well.
Zareth wasn’t sure how long he sat there staring at the closed door. The exchange had left him with a sour taste in his mouth, despite how relatively quick it was. He had thought it would be easy to confront his past friends, but his mind couldn’t stop conjuring memories he hadn’t thought about for a long time.
“Are you alright, sir?” Rizok asked sympathetically, pulling him out of his thoughts.
“Yeah, I’m alright,” Zareth lied, wearing a fake smile as he rose from his seat and made his way to the exit. He needed to find something to do, otherwise his thoughts were going to drive him crazy. “Let’s head to the palace and let High Command know their demands. The faster we can get this out of the way, the faster I get back to exploring the effects of [Malleable Flesh].”
Whatever thoughts Rizok had about his meeting, he kept them to himself as he fell into step behind him. Zareth was looking forward to a quiet walk during which he could get his thoughts in order, but that hope was quickly dashed as he spotted someone unfamiliar looking around the main hall.
She was a middle-aged human woman with graying hair and a curious expression. Zareth could tell from her ragged shawl that she wasn’t particularly well off, and was most likely someone from the Sunrise Slums who had heard about his temple and wanted to look around.
As he approached, the woman’s expression brightened and she took the opportunity to speak first. “Hello, young man. Are you the nice [Cultist] in charge of this temple that I’ve been hearing so much about?”
The woman’s expression was filled with kindness, and Zareth couldn’t help but smile. It was nice to hear that people were saying good things about him.
“Yes I am, ma’am,” Zareth said, preparing to speak to a prospective new convert. “Did you come here to learn more about Cereb—”
By the time Zareth understood what was happening, the woman had already pulled a knife from beneath her shawl and stabbed him in the throat twice. Operating entirely on instinct, Zareth grabbed her arm and buried his venomous nails into her flesh, and used [Corrode Flesh] as she went for a third thrust of her knife.
The middle-aged woman screamed in pain before jumping back and landing on one of the pews with surprising grace. As the woman examined the decomposing flesh of her arm, Zareth finally noticed the sound of clashing steel echoing throughout his temple. A quick glance revealed that Rizok was a blur of movement as he deflected the blades of four other [Assassins], a decapitated ogre already at his feet as he fought with lethal intent.
As Zareth forced his wounds closed and prevented the poison that coated the old woman’s knife from entering his bloodstream, he turned his attention back to his would-be killer. The [Assassin] had just finished pouring the contents of an elixir onto her wound and was now staring at him with eerie calmness.
The last thing that Zareth noticed before she leaped at him and he was once again fighting for his life was that her knife glowed with the power of a Blessing.
Zareth let out a groan of frustration as he mulled over his options and carefully studied the large book in front of him.
The Grimoire of Cerebon was wrapped in dark leather and contained a wealth of knowledge about his Class and the Skills it offered him. Despite this, Zareth didn’t feel like he was any closer to reaching a solution to his conundrum.
It had been several days since he had reached Level 20, and he’d only managed to decide on a single one of his three Skill points. Now while he was waiting in the back office of his makeshift temple for his next appointment to arrive, Zareth hoped that he would suddenly receive some divine inspiration on the best path forward. Unfortunately, Cerebon rarely paid any attention to him unless he was performing a ritual.
It’s a whole lot easier to make these kinds of decisions when it’s just in a video game and not a life altering moment, Zareth thought ruefully. His choices had been pretty obvious for his past two Skill points, but that wasn’t the case now.
After another few minutes of indecision, Zareth decided to seek a new perspective. “Hey, Rizok. any advice on how I should spend my last two Skill points? I’ve gotten stuck on this and need another opinion.”
Zareth turned to his companion, who was sitting in a chair near the entrance to the office and reading a book on historical wars. The first time Zareth had seen Rizok after acquiring [Devotion Perception], he was unsurprised to sense that the lizardkin worshiped no gods. Rizok had already made it clear early on that he wasn’t interested in being a member of his Cult or any others.
“Are you certain that you want to ask me, sir?” asked Rizok, sounding mildly surprised. The details of a person's Status were an incredibly personal thing and were the sort of thing people usually did with their family.
Unfortunately, Zareth didn’t have a family or any close friends, so the best he could do was his government assigned bodyguard.
“I don’t see why not,” Zareth said, shrugging slightly. There wasn’t anything about his Status that needed to be hidden. “It’s definitely better than me just waffling back and forth.”
He could tell that Rizok was somewhat taken aback by his request, but the lizardkin was quick to agree. “Very well. Then please explain your current abilities as well as your options so that I can give an informed opinion, sir.”
Zareth called upon his Status and gave it a quick once over to refresh his memory. The System didn’t give people a convenient panel for them to look at. Instead, it transferred the information directly into their mind, so Zareth was forced to slowly explain. Paper in Tal’Qamar was not so cheap that he could afford to waste it on something he could just share verbally.
Name: Zareth
Class(s): Cultist Level 20
Stats:
Strength - 16
Vitality - 18
Agility - 16
Spirit - 29
Willpower - 24
Control - 24
Active Skills:
Corrode Flesh
Deaden Nerves
Permanent Flesh Manipulation
Minor Purify Flesh
Ritual of Offering
Passive Skills:
Magical Perception
Flesh Perception
Cerebon’s Boon
Aesthetic Intuition
Devotion Perception
Veterinary Knowledge
Zareth didn’t actually reveal that the System offered him [Veterinary Knowledge]. Such a Skill was only offered to him due to his past life, and it would seem very out of place if anyone knew about it. The System generally only offered Skills unrelated to a person’s Class when they possessed unique or highly specialized experiences.
After a few moments of consideration, Rizok decided to ask for clarification. “The functions of these Skills are all fairly obvious aside from [Minor Purify Flesh]. How does that Skill work?”
Zareth leaned back in his chair and hummed thoughtfully as he explained. “I acquired that Skill back when I first became a Cultist. It removes minor diseases and sicknesses from a person’s body. It has a single option for Skill Evolution called [Purify Flesh] that just does it a bit better and can affect magical ailments as well.”
Unfortunately, the only Skill evolutions available to him were for [Minor Purify Flesh] and [Flesh Perception]. Evolving Skills took much more effort than simply purchasing a new one, as they tended to have more stringent or unique prerequisites before they could be learned. For example, the Grimoire of Cerebon told him that he could upgrade [Corrode Flesh] into [Corrosive Bolt] if he either used it very often or managed to acquire [Proficiency - Flesh Magic].
Sadly, it would take a significant amount of time learning from a capable teacher before the System would offer that Skill to him. There was a reason that few people in this world studied the fundamentals of magic and actually became a [Mage].
“I see… while such a Skill would be useful, I imagine you’re not particularly interested in becoming a healer?” Rizok asked, before continuing when Zareth confirmed his assumptions. “In that case, what new Skills has the System made available?”
Zareth took a few more moments to verbally explain the Skills that the System was offering him. He was somewhat glad that there was nothing new, or Zareth would have been even more paralyzed with indecision.
Available Skills:
Active:
Minor Blessing of Cerebon - Temporarily bestow a lesser version of Cerebon’s Boon to an individual regardless of their devotion. Grants slight increase to physical stats and regeneration. Also allows the [Cultist] to bless objects to provide temporary enchantments. This path leads to further skills related to the bestowal of blessings and curses. +2 Spirit. +1 Willpower. +1 Control.
Minor Siphon Vitality - Temporarily lowers the Vitality of the target while increasing your own. Effect increases over time. This path leads to further skills related to the manipulation of stats. +1 Spirit. +2 Willpower. +1 Control.
Create Lesser Flesh Golem - Allows for the creation of a small flesh golem, a simple construct with limited intelligence. Physical abilities vary with materials used for construction. This path leads to further skills related to the creation and modification of artificial beings. +1 Spirit. +1 Willpower. +2 Control.
Passive:
Malleable Flesh - Increases the flexibility and elasticity of your own flesh, significantly enhancing the ability for one to modify themselves through Flesh Magic. This path leads to further skills related to personal augmentation. +1 Strength. +2 Vitality. +1 Agility.
Deceptive Presence - Allows the user to subtly control how others perceive their actions and motives. This skill can be used to make the [Cultist] seem less threatening, more trustworthy, or simply uninteresting to prying eyes. This path leads to further skills related to interpersonal manipulation and mental influences. +1 Spirit +2 Willpower. +1 Control.
Rizok seemed very interested as Zareth listed all of the Skills and their descriptions. His Skills weren’t exactly common, so this was probably Rizok’s first time hearing about them. However,
“Right now, I’m mostly split between [Malleable Flesh] or [Create Lesser Flesh Golem] for self-defense,” Zareth continued once he finished detailing all of his new potential Skills. “I’m also considering [Deceptive Presence] and [Minor Blessing of Cerebon] to help out with my Cult. What do you think?”
Zareth wished that he could just invest more in Skills that would benefit his Cult as much as possible, but that would be a short-sighted decision. The Conclave would retaliate against the city’s new government someday, and he fully intended to invest in Skills that would allow him to survive when that happened.
“Focusing on self-defense first, I would recommend [Malleable Flesh] over the alternative,” Rizok said after a few moments of consideration.
“Oh, why is that?” Zareth asked curiously. He had been leaning toward the other option, so he was eager to hear the soldier’s explanation. “With [Create Lesser Flesh Golem], I could have a meat shield to jump in between me and any attackers. Plus, it’d be useful for manual labor and give more useful Stats. The future Evolutions are really strong as well.”
The Grimoire of Cerebon gave several examples of what a high Level individual could do with flesh golems, and he was very impressed.
“Sir, you already have a meat shield to stand behind,” Rizok deadpanned, obviously referring to himself. “It will be quite some time before you are able to make a golem powerful enough to deter any competent [Assassin]. They would simply use their Skills to maneuver around your creation and attack you directly. [Malleable Flesh] on the other hand would allow you to survive long enough for me to intervene, while also offering more adaptability to unforeseen situations.”
Zareth thought about it and realized that Rizok might have a point. Many of [Malleable Flesh]’s future evolutions offered him tools that would make him very difficult to kill, which was the most important consideration.
More Control would allow him to make more precise changes with his [Permanent Flesh Manipulation] and Willpower would allow him to use Skills longer without getting tired. However, the physical stats from [Malleable Flesh] would be nice in his everyday life.
“Alright, what about [Deceptive Presence] and [Minor Blessing of Cerebon]?” Zareth asked. The soldier obviously knew a lot about combat and self-defense, but he probably didn’t know as much about cult management. “The benefits of the first are obvious, but the latter will be useful for recruitment as well since it’d give me another service that I could offer.”
Rizok was much quicker to answer this time. “[Deceptive Presence] is obviously significantly better for the purpose of recruiting people, but there’s one factor that makes it unviable. Such a Skill would be illegal to use in many foreign nations and would cause significant issues if you were caught doing so.”
Zareth could feel his eyes widen at that information. He’d heard that some foreigners got a bit wary when it came to mental Skills, but not to the point of actually making them illegal. The [Merchants] in Tal’Qamar used Skills like [Charismatic Speech] all of the time to get better deals after all.
“Really? Where?” Zareth asked.
"The savages of the Frozen Fjords would kill you without hesitation if you used such a Skill on them," Rizok answered, his eyes distant as if lost in a memory. "We fought against them when they started raiding the territory of some [Duke] from one of the northern kingdoms. The folks there didn't seem too accepting of mental Skills either. I've gotten the impression that Tal'Qamar is an exception in that regard."
That was surprising to hear, but made sense once Zareth began to think about it. The [Merchant Lord] had likely possessed many mind-altering Skills and wouldn't want to promote a culture that limited his options.
Zareth could probably get away with using [Deceptive Presence] in Tal’Qamar, but there were many people from foreign cultures that passed through the city. He also had ambitions of one day spreading the Cult of Cerebon beyond just this city, so these were factors that he had to consider.
“I suppose [Minor Blessing of Cerebon] would be the better choice then,” Zareth said thoughtfully. “I’ll be able to give permanent blessings to objects once I upgrade the Skill. I’ll probably never be as good or versatile as a dedicated [Enchanter], but blessings can still become pretty strong.”
Rizok nodded in agreement. “That seems wise, sir.”
Zareth considered his options for a few more moments to make sure he wasn’t making a mistake, but eventually decided that he’d hesitated long enough.
[Minor Blessing of Cerebon] has been acquired!
[Malleable Flesh] has been acquired!
Zareth immediately felt a wave of energy flow through him as all of his Stats were raised. The sensation was even stronger than normal as [Malleable Flesh] began to take effect and reform his body. Zareth could instinctively sense that he would be able to reshape his body in all sorts of new ways, and he felt a powerful urge to experiment with it. However, it would be quicker to test the other one first.
After receiving his consent, Zareth didn’t hesitate to use [Minor Blessing of Cerebon] on Rizok. The feeling of the Skill was similar to when he performed his rituals, as a sliver of Cerebon’s power seemed to flow through him and into his companion. Rizok let out a gasp as he began to glow with soft golden light.
Once the blessing was complete, Zareth watched as Rizok threw out a few punches faster than his eyes could reliably track. “This is stronger than I expected, sir. My Strength and Agility have both increased by two while my Vitality has increased by three. This effect is at least as powerful as a weaker enchanted item.”
Zareth repeated the experiment by blessing his knife. Once he was done, the blade was now glowing and he instinctively knew that it now carried a minor effect that would slowly decompose the flesh of anyone he considered an enemy.
“The strength of the blessing depends on Spirit, which is the highest of my Stats,” Zareth explained, feeling proud that he had managed to impress the experienced soldier. “I gave the strongest blessing to you that I could. Glad to see that it’s useful.”
As Rizok continued to test out his increased Stats, Zareth decided to begin testing out the new abilities of his body. Before he had acquired [Malleable Flesh], Zareth could only alter his body slightly more than he could modify another person’s. Now, his body felt like clay that he could form and reform at will.
Zareth raised his hand and watched in fascination as the skin of his palm split open and revealed a fanged maw dripping with venom. Within only a few moments, Zareth had grown the venom sac of a Qahtani Sand Viper within his wrist and connected it to the newly formed mouth. Feeling the urge to see how far he could push it, Zareth slowly grew a scorpion stinger within his hand-mouth that could spring out and deliver lethal venom to any attacker.
“Awesome,” Zareth murmured as he continued his experiments. He could see that Rizok seemed a bit grossed out by the grotesque display, but he wasn’t particularly concerned. “This venom is powerful enough to kill anyone with less than 28 Vitality, so long as they don’t have any anti-venom Skills or get any healing. Seems like a pretty decent way to protect myself, no?”
The Qahtani Sand Viper was one of the most common snakes in the Qahtani desert, so it wasn’t difficult to purchase one and study its venom. Zareth couldn’t wait for the Adventurers to return with the creature’s he’d sent them to acquire.
“Yes, sir,” Rizok agreed despite his disgust. “Just… is there a way to make it less conspicuous?”
Zareth had to admit that would probably be a good idea. The people of this world had a very high tolerance for strange and unusual things, but there was probably a limit. Something that could be hidden would most likely be preferable. Zareth got rid of his hand-mouth-stinger and just decided to just sharpen his nails a bit and connect the tiny venom sac to those.
The hardest part was forming the muscles that would contract and push the venom through the small holes in his nails, but he managed to add in the small delicate muscles into the tips of his fingers.
“Okay, [Malleable Flesh] is much more useful than I expected,” Zareth decided as he studied the results of his efforts. “Definitely gives me something to experiment with while I wait for the next appointment to arrive.”
As expected, Zareth saw Rizok’s expression immediately darken at the mention of their approaching meeting. His mention had been deliberate, as Zareth wanted to confront the matter before they arrived.
“Rizok, do you have something you would like to say?” Zareth asked calmly, looking the lizardkin directly in his eyes. “If you do, it’s important that you do so before they arrive.”
Rizok paused and clenched his teeth before answering. “I don’t like that you’re meeting with criminals, sir. It’s not something that someone of your position should be doing.”
That was about what he had been expecting. For someone who had only ever served as a lawful member of society, the idea of peacefully speaking with criminals was probably an affront.
“You know that this whole thing is High Command’s idea to begin with, right?” Zareth asked, trying to convince Rizok. The last thing he wanted was for there to be friction between him and the person responsible for keeping him alive. “They’re the ones who want to leverage my past and form a relationship with one of the less dangerous gangs. If we can convince them to feed us information, it’ll help High Command learn more about the other gangs and Conclave activity in the city. All I did was agree to their proposal.”
Organized crime was pervasive in the city and the military was likely unfamiliar with the gangs due to them frequently being sent away from Tal’Qamar on contracts. Now that the military had taken over the government, they would want to know about everything that went on in their territory. If Zareth could offer that information, then he would become an asset High Command would be hard pressed to replace.
It was a risky plan, but Zareth felt like he knew how the gangs operated well enough to avoid antagonizing anyone actually dangerous.
“That you have the blessing of High Command is the only reason I’ve kept my silence,” Riziok admitted, his tone strained. “However, I still believe that this to be the wrong course of action. A person who has failed to adhere to basic laws cannot be trusted to adhere to any agreement that you make with them. It’s also an unnecessary risk to your safety when this could be handled by a member of the military.”
Nothing that Rizok said was necessarily wrong in Zareth’s opinion, but the lizardkin simply didn’t know as much as he did about the situation. He knew more about the criminals of this city than any member of the military, and would be well-positioned to determine if he was being fed garbage information.
Since Rizok didn’t know that, the best thing he could do was simply explain.
“How much do you know about my past?” Zareth asked curiously. “I assume your superiors must have given you a briefing before you were assigned to me.”
This would be a good way to figure out what High Command knew as well.
“I was told that you were once a member of some minor criminal group before having a public falling out with them and becoming a [Cultist],” Rizok said reluctantly.
Zareth was surprised that High Command knew so little about him. Whatever intelligence services they had used must've been even worse than he had expected. If Rizok was going to be by his side for the indefinite future, then it probably made sense to share a bit about himself and build a rapport with the lizardkin.
“Then I suppose I should start from the beginning,” Zareth said as he leaned back in his chair. “As you know, I grew up on the streets of the Sunrise Slums and had been there for as long as I could recall. I’ve been told that I was left on the streets by some old lizardkin woman, who must have been my caretaker, but I can’t remember any of that.”
His first few years after reincarnating in this world had been absolutely incomprehensible to Zareth. His brain had been incapable of processing his old memories, and nothing had made any sense to him. Zareth hadn’t really understood that he had been reincarnated until well after he had been thrown onto the streets.
“After that, the System assigned me [Street Urchin] as a Preparatory Class, and I survived mostly by begging for food from Gurza and eventually by stealing,” Zareth continued, ignoring the hint of sympathy he could see in the soldier’s eyes.
Preparatory Classes were Classes that were given to underaged individuals before they reached the age of majority for their species and culture. They had the advantage of allowing a person to easily switch their Class later on in life without any consequences, which Zareth had taken advantage of when he became a [Cultist].
“I didn’t have many friends back then. I was always just too… weird,” Zareth said awkwardly. His memories of his past life always made him seem strange and uncanny when he was a kid. “I eventually fell in with a minor gang that called themselves the Phantom Scorpions. Many of them were from the same background as I, and we had grown pretty close. I even began to see some of them as family.”
It was a bit of a silly name, but criminals weren’t exactly known for their creativity. Zareth tried to hide the emotion in his voice as he thought back on his time with the Phantom Scorpions. He remembered moments when he used to give tips to some of the younger kids, such as which of the [Guardsmen] were too lazy to chase a pickpocket or the best places to hide from the desert sun.
The younger kids were generally kept away from the worst of the gang’s activities, so Zareth could pretend that he wasn’t actually hurting anyone and was just doing what he needed to survive.
There was a time when Zareth dreamed about becoming a high Level [Thief] and acting like Robin Hood. He would use the coins he gained from the wealthy [Merchants] to feed every kid in the Sunrise Slums and just make the world a better place.
Of course, that naivete disappeared quickly once he approached his age of majority, and the older criminals started showing him the darker side of what they got up to.
“What happened?” asked Rizok, clearly invested in his story.
The question pulled Zareth out of his wandering thoughts and he quickly got back on track. “To make a long story short, I eventually decided that I didn’t want to take a criminal Class like [Thief] or [Smuggler] once I became of age. After a traveler gave me the Grimoire of Cerebon and offered me the chance to become a [Cultist] instead, I began trying to distance myself from the Phantom Scorpions.”
Zareth had known that if he didn’t get out before he became of age, then he never would. The System was great for many things, but it also had a way of locking people onto a certain path.
“I eventually shared my intentions with my closest friend in the gang, Aldarim,” Zareth said tonelessly. He had come to view Aldarim as something like a younger brother by then and had wanted the two of them to become [Cultists] together. “That turned out to be a mistake. He told the leader of the gang that I didn’t want to be a criminal, which eventually led to me being beaten within an inch of my life.”
He knew that Aldarim probably just wanted for him to be scared straight or brought back into the fold, but Zareth didn’t really care. The gang leader’s right hand man had been a high leveled [Thug], who had plenty of Skills just for hurting someone. That had been the most terrifying moment of either of his lives, and he would still be covered in scars if Cerebon had not happened to be the God of Flesh.
The fact that it came as a result of someone he trusted betraying his confidence only made it worse.
After that, Zareth had lost any naivete he carried over from his relatively peaceful first life. He resolved to take any advantage that he could and grasp power whenever it was offered to him. Anything, so long as he never felt that helpless again.
When Zareth turned his attention back to Rizok, he could see a surprising amount of anger in the lizardkin’s eyes.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that. I wouldn’t react well if one of my squadmates betrayed me like that,” Rizok said with an amount of empathy that was surprising for the normally stoic soldier.
Zareth had never actually heard anyone express sympathy for that before. It was a bit surprising and momentarily left him at a loss for words.
“It’s… it’s fine,” Zareth said finally, not entirely sure how to respond. “I didn't tell you that story for pity. I just want you to understand that I, out of anyone in this city, understand that these criminals aren’t to be trusted. The reason that I agreed to High Command’s request was so that I could make myself useful and help them clean up Tal’Qamar.”
The fact that High Command had promised to reward him well for his efforts didn’t hurt either.
Rizok opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a knock on the door to the office. Once Zareth called for them to enter, he was greeted by the sight of a nervous looking human boy. Tamir was a teenager sent to him by Gurza to help him around the temple. She wanted to get the kid off the street, and giving him an actual job was the best way to do that.
“Hey boss, a couple of guys wearing headscarves came to the temple and are sayin’ you’re expecting them? They’re waitin’ in the main hall,” Tamir said cautiously, peeking his head through the door.
After taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Zareth nodded to the kid. “Thank you, Tamir. You can send them here.”
Tamir nodded and left without another word while Rizok made his way over to stand guard by Zareth’s desk. The lizardkin made for an intimidating figure, wearing the crimson cloak of the Tal’Qamari military over expensive steel armor and a longsword sheathed at his waist.
Zareth was only slightly surprised when a female lizardkin dressed in nondescript clothing and hiding her face behind a headdress angrily pushed open the door and began storming up to him while shouting. “Who do you think you are, bastard?! I should gut you li—”
The woman stopped her tirade the moment she noticed the sword sitting across her throat. Rizok had moved so fast that Zareth had barely been able to see him move.
“Keep your distance, criminal,” said Rizok, his voice colder than Zareth had ever heard. “I suggest you remember your place and reconsider how you speak.”
Zareth took a moment to observe the woman who he hadn’t seen for several years now. She was abnormally tall for a female lizardkin, standing at over six feet tall, and possessed emerald scales that were chipped and broken in many places. Coupled with the fiery spark in her eyes and the large portion of her tail that was missing, it was obvious that she hadn’t lived a peaceful life.
“Hello, Saless. It’s good to see you again,” Zareth lied, pasting a confident smile on his face. He knew that he couldn’t afford to show any signs of weakness in front of her. “It’s been a few years, hasn’t it?”
Zareth found it much harder to hold his smile when he saw two more people walk into the room.
One of them was a petite human woman who looked nothing like most criminals, with dark and smooth skin unblemished by any scars and soft eyes that seemed to calm anyone who looked into them. Now that Zareth had a much higher Willpower Stat than when he had last seen her, he could conclude without any doubts that such an effect was the result of a Skill, as it seemed weaker than he remembered.
The other was also a human, a young man who he had definitely not expected to see. As he removed his headscarf, Zareth could see that he had short copper hair along with pale skin that marked him as out of place in Tal’Qamar. He wore an awkward expression, and his gaze was darting everywhere in the room aside from Zareth.
“Let’s not get carried away there big guy,” said the petite woman, her voice completely calm. “I’m sure my friend here didn’t mean anything by it. We’re just a bit tense cause all of this happened quite suddenly.”
When Zareth responded, he found his tone coming out far harsher than he had intended. “Your friend should learn some manners, and remember that she’s not in some back alley. We aren’t close enough anymore that I’ll tolerate people threatening me in my temple, Mera. Especially when they bring along people who they were specifically told to leave behind.”
Saless glared at him from several feet away, Rizok’s blade still at her neck. “That was before you sent people to break into our home and leave behind threatening letters! Tharkun must have smashed your head in worse than I believed if you thought we’d leave Aldarim behind after the shit you pulled, brat!”
After High Command came to him with their proposal, they asked Zareth to identify a few criminals that they could recruit as informants. Tal’Qamar had a weak rule of law for people without wealth, so any criminal who he named could either choose between cooperation or prison.
A small part of Zareth felt guilty over using his old connections like that, but not enough to stop him from doing so. It seemed like High Command had decided to threaten Saless by leaving a letter in her home, which unsurprisingly didn’t go over well. He had chosen to name Saless for many reasons, but a calm disposition certainly wasn’t one of them. Spitefully bringing Aldarim along despite his request was exactly the sort of thing that she would do.
“Please have a seat,” Zareth said as he gestured for Rizok to lower his blade. The soldier reluctantly did so and moved back to his previous position. “I’m afraid you’ll need to stand… Aldarim. I wasn’t expecting to see you and only prepared two seats for this meeting.”
Saless seemed like she wanted to continue shouting at him, but Mera calmed her down with a few whispered words, and the two of them took a seat. Aldarim continued to stand awkwardly by the door, looking like he wanted to disappear.
“Let's get to the point,” Zareth began, deciding he wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. His first plan had been to coax them gently with nice words, but now he no longer had the patience for that. “You’ve heard that I work for the new guys in charge of the city. They want to keep an eye on what the gangs are up to, so I pointed them in your direction. Help with this and you’ll be rewarded. Refuse and you’ll go to prison. What’ll it be?”
Mera was the first to speak, interrupting whatever vitriolic nonsense was about to come out of Saless’ mouth. “You’re putting us in a bit of a difficult position, Zareth. What you’re asking for us to do is quite dangerous after all. If we get caught, then we’ll face far worse than prison. Certainly you can see why we would be reluctant?”
Zareth snorted in amusement. Mera was always the smartest of the pair and would have already realized that they have no choice. Right now, she was just angling for the best compensation that she could.
“High Command has offered to pay well for any information you can get,” Zareth said bluntly, doing his best to keep his voice as neutral as possible. “What you get will depend on what you can offer. They’re particularly interested in any Conclave activity and the identity of any high leveled [Smuggler] capable of bypassing their blockade. Trust me when I say that you’ll get a lot of gold if you manage to find anything related to those subjects. I can also offer you my services as a healer.”
Zareth had no doubt that they were already well aware of what he could do, so he felt no reason to explain.
Mera frowned and considered the offer, her gaze far away. She was likely calculating the level of risk, the chances of her getting caught, and the possible profits. The other two kept silent while she thought, obviously used to allowing her to make the decisions. Zareth patiently kept quiet as well. It would do no good to rush things at this point.
Finally, Mera looked at him directly and spoke with a decisiveness that told him she wouldn’t be changing her mind. “We’re willing to consider your offer, but there are a few guarantees that we need first.”
Zareth scowled in annoyance. While he had far more leverage in this negotiation than they did, he still needed their willing cooperation. If he didn’t have it, then they would likely just smile and agree before disappearing from Tal’Qamar forever. Mera was smart enough to make that happen.
“And what guarantees are those?” Zareth asked, leaning back in his chair.
“I want an official pardon for all our previous crimes, signed by General Nasrith and written by an [Oathscribe],” said Mera, her voice calm and smooth. “If we’re going to do this, then I don’t want the military holding our past against us for the rest of our lives. I’m sure you can understand.”
Zareth took a moment to consider her demand. [Oathscribe] was a rare evolution of [Scribe] who could create documents capable of manifesting all sorts of effects. If General Nasrith was to sign such a document, then he would face rather dire consequences if he went back on his word.
“That isn’t something that I have the authority to promise,” Zareth said honestly. He didn’t have a good enough read on General Nasrith to know how he would react. “But I can relay your conditions to High Command. I think they’ll be open to the idea of pardoning the two of you, so long as you two agree to bind yourself to providing the information we’ve asked for in return.”
Saless crossed her arms, her expression full of skepticism. “Yeah, you get back to us on that. Now what about the boy? He needs to be included in this too.”
She gestured to Aldarim, who looked as if he wanted to melt into the wall.
“He wasn’t supposed to be here,” Zareth said tersely, ignoring the hurt that flashed in Aldarim’s eyes. “He doesn’t have anything to do with this. He should have stayed behind, as I requested.”
“He already knows about this, so he’s involved whether you like it or not,” Saless countered smugly.
Zareth frowned deeply. He had no desire to deal with Aldarim, and he found himself thoroughly annoyed with Saless’ insistence. Just as he was about to rebuff her once again, he was interrupted by a voice that he hadn’t heard in years.
“Zareth, I know my word ain’t gonna mean much to you nowadays,” said Aldarim, speaking up for the first time since he entered the room. His voice was deeper and much more serious than he remembered. “But… I swear I’m not gonna screw anything up for you guys. I got pretty close with Mera and Saless after you left, and I just wanna help. I’m willin’ to agree to any terms you make.”
There was a degree of hesitance in Aldarim’s voice that Zareth didn’t expect. The boy he once viewed as a little brother was always cocky and sure of himself.
After taking a moment to consider things rationally, Zareth realized that he didn’t have much choice. If Aldarim wasn’t involved, then he was just a loose end that ran the risk of causing problems in the future.
“You’re right, your word doesn’t mean much of anything,” Zareth said spitefully before taking a deep breath and forcing himself to calm down. “But I’ll bring this up to High Command. So long as you sign an Oath guaranteeing that you keep this a secret, then I don’t have any problems with this.”
Zareth ignored Aldarim’s grateful smile as he turned back to Mera and began discussing the finer details of their cooperation. There wasn’t much that they could talk about until Zareth spoke with High Command, so their meeting didn’t last much longer than that.
Mera offered Zareth a sad smile as she rose from her seat and prepared to leave. “Despite everything, I’m glad I got to see you again… it’s good to see that you’re doing well for yourself. None of us knew how far Tharkun was going to go that night.”
Zareth wasn’t particularly interested in hearing apologies only offered when they had every incentive to give them. While he hadn’t been as close with Mera and Saless as he was with Aldarim, Zareth had still considered them friends. They never did anything to contact him after he left the gang, which was enough to show their priorities.
“Goodbye, Mera,” Zareth said, unwilling to add any more to their conversation.
Much to his relief, Mera didn’t bother to say anything else and merely nodded before making her way to the exit, Saless following behind her. Aldarim hesitated by the door as if he wanted to say something, but Zareth merely glared at him until he left as well.
Zareth wasn’t sure how long he sat there staring at the closed door. The exchange had left him with a sour taste in his mouth, despite how relatively quick it was. He had thought it would be easy to confront his past friends, but his mind couldn’t stop conjuring memories he hadn’t thought about for a long time.
“Are you alright, sir?” Rizok asked sympathetically, pulling him out of his thoughts.
“Yeah, I’m alright,” Zareth lied, wearing a fake smile as he rose from his seat and made his way to the exit. He needed to find something to do, otherwise his thoughts were going to drive him crazy. “Let’s head to the palace and let High Command know their demands. The faster we can get this out of the way, the faster I get back to exploring the effects of [Malleable Flesh].”
Whatever thoughts Rizok had about his meeting, he kept them to himself as he fell into step behind him. Zareth was looking forward to a quiet walk during which he could get his thoughts in order, but that hope was quickly dashed as he spotted someone unfamiliar looking around the main hall.
She was a middle-aged human woman with graying hair and a curious expression. Zareth could tell from her ragged shawl that she wasn’t particularly well off, and was most likely someone from the Sunrise Slums who had heard about his temple and wanted to look around.
As he approached, the woman’s expression brightened and she took the opportunity to speak first. “Hello, young man. Are you the nice [Cultist] in charge of this temple that I’ve been hearing so much about?”
The woman’s expression was filled with kindness, and Zareth couldn’t help but smile. It was nice to hear that people were saying good things about him.
“Yes I am, ma’am,” Zareth said, preparing to speak to a prospective new convert. “Did you come here to learn more about Cereb—”
By the time Zareth understood what was happening, the woman had already pulled a knife from beneath her shawl and stabbed him in the throat twice. Operating entirely on instinct, Zareth grabbed her arm and buried his venomous nails into her flesh, and used [Corrode Flesh] as she went for a third thrust of her knife.
The middle-aged woman screamed in pain before jumping back and landing on one of the pews with surprising grace. As the woman examined the decomposing flesh of her arm, Zareth finally noticed the sound of clashing steel echoing throughout his temple. A quick glance revealed that Rizok was a blur of movement as he deflected the blades of four other [Assassins], a decapitated ogre already at his feet as he fought with lethal intent.
As Zareth forced his wounds closed and prevented the poison that coated the old woman’s knife from entering his bloodstream, he turned his attention back to his would-be killer. The [Assassin] had just finished pouring the contents of an elixir onto her wound and was now staring at him with eerie calmness.
The last thing that Zareth noticed before she leaped at him and he was once again fighting for his life was that her knife glowed with the power of a Blessing.
