Path of the Deathless

245 (I) Backstory [I]

-The Culturist, Legendary Orc War Maestro245 (I)

Backstory [I]

Seconds passed. Shiv gawked at Jessica. Some more seconds passed. The gawking continued. Between his weary brain and her sudden appearance, along with Adam's rapid cursing, the Deathless didn't know how to respond. He didn't know if she was here to bring him in, to ambush him, or if she was simply like him, taking a break inside the waiting room.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Jessica sighed, leaning back slightly. Besides her helmet, she still wore her full set or armor, but it did little to make her physique any more imposing. "I'd offer you a cookie, kid, but as you can see," she gestured toward the empty wrapper lying on the table, as well as a messy spill of crumbs that dotted its surface, "I'm all out. They're in my tummy. So, what's your damage? You one of the medics here? Some nasty blood you got all over yourself. But, hey, I've had worse on me. I had worse just now. Kind of a day for me too.”

Shiv looked down and realized he had caught some of the spray when Maxime was mending the goblin. That and that of several other patients. The past minutes had been a blur. It was hard to recall everyone he'd treated, and his head continued throbbing.

"Yeah, just kind of tired," Shiv said.

Jessica giggled. Her voice sounded like the chiming of bells, and she seemed so much younger than she actually was. There was no hint of tension or agitation on her face. Yet, looks could be deceiving, and true intentions could be hidden.

Even so, if she had come here to claim Shiv, she could have done so at any moment, could have ambushed him, could have demanded that he leave the room with her. To defend himself against a rival Legend meant breaking his cover, and Shiv didn't want to do that.

Now, though, she was just being chummy. Jessica smiled lightly at Shiv. "You know, being bone-tired is a reward."

"It is," Shiv replied, feeling like he was in a trance.

Adam said.

Jessica, unaware of the ambush brewing against her, just nodded. "Oh yeah, when I was a kid, right? Didn't live a great life. Was a bit of an urban explorer, if you could call me that. And things at home weren't great either. Just went out, did stuff, got into trouble. It's hard to sleep, you know, when your family's... in..." She didn't quite finish that sentence, but Shiv got what she was trying to imply. "But when you're tired enough, sleep's easy. It's the best sleep aid in the world. And there's something special about lying down on a soft bed, pulling up—well, it doesn't even need to be silk, freshly-washed sheets. Even a ratty old rag will do when you know you gave the day everything you had.”

She let out a sigh and shook her head as if she was reminiscing about good times. "Nothing quite like being a Pathbearer, is there, kid?"

"I guess not," Shiv replied. He stared at her and chanced a question: "Um, are you—"

"Oh yeah, I am the Giantsbane. If you're feeling starstruck, don't. I'm just, uh, well, I guess I am a Legend, but... When you get old enough, you're going to figure out that being a Legend is a lot more of a circumstance thing than it is an achievement of pure skill."

Shiv looked around and realized that Rusty was surprisingly absent. That dimensional blade was always near Jessica. Now he had no idea where it was. He had the strangest feeling come over him. A tickle ran down the base of his skull and traveled across the length of his back. He fought the urge to look behind him.

Shiv squeaked telepathically.

The Gate Lord took only a half-second to respond.

And that wasn't a reassuring statement. Rusty being missing meant that Shiv simply didn't know where the attack might be coming from.

Tulveg said.

Helix said. The orc sounded adamant.

Shiv asked, incredulous.

the orc answered.

Helix hummed,

Shiv considered that, but he wasn't convinced.

Stolen from NovelFire, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Shiv thought back to his first encounter with Jessica Hawgrave aboard the Inquisition warship.

Helix asked.

Helix said.

Shiv shrugged internally.

Helix asked.

Shiv didn't understand the orc’s worry.

Adam asked.

the Gate Lord chimed.

Shiv chuckled.

Adam said.

Sage of the Enkindled Heart:

It was such a relaxing thought.

Jessica arced a sharp eyebrow as she regarded Shiv. "You know something? Most times, people have a lot more questions for me. They also ask me to sign something or tell me that they named their kid after me.”

Shiv gave a slight wheeze. He wasn't even really acting. Despite that, he gained the level anyway.

Acting 20 > 21

"Wow, you're that spent, huh, kid?"

"Yeah, I got kidnapped by a cancer monster earlier."

Suddenly, Jessica's mouth fell open. "Holy shit, that was you?" She barked a laugh. "You have any idea how lucky you are to be alive right now? Vampire snatched you. That thing was sent by a Legend. On the other hand, you have any idea how bad your luck is to be one of the few kids to get snatched by a cancer dimensional?" She leaned in closer and narrowed her eyes. "What is it about you that made you get snatched up?"

Shiv hadn't come up with a proper alibi for that. He winced. He thought back to Marcus's backstory, and he almost stopped time to buy himself some more room to think before realizing Jessica was immune to his time stops. But then, inspiration struck him.

"I'm Cursed," Shiv blurted out.

"You're what?"

"I'm Cursed," Shiv repeated. "I got this mana deficiency thing. My Physicality is all messed up. That might have drawn it."

Deception 48 > 50 (Skill Evolution Imminent)

"Oh," Jessica said. She actually seemed sympathetic. "Okay, I've heard something about that. You can't develop your Physicality Skill, is that why you're…" She waved a finger at his body. "Uh, yeah, but your skin… You look metallic.”

"My Toughness is not affected."

"That explains why the rubble didn't kill you. Damn, I can't say if I would consider you favored or simply just screwed. But then again, it is the System we're talking about here. It doesn't know what it wants half the time." Jessica looked up at the ceiling and simply sneered, "Piece of shit."

Shiv noted her scorn with interest.

Sage of the Enkindled Heart:

Shiv replied.

Aloud, he said, "Yeah, well, that's life for us Pathbearers, huh?"

"Well, you're right about that." Jessica sighed again as she slumped down onto the desk for just a moment, running a hand through her lightly curled hair. "Anyway, I came here to apologize to Hero-Biomancer Javelina for putting her hospital in danger. This entire thing was actually a personal matter on my part. Well, maybe not on my part. It's mostly the fault of my strange grandson for not dealing with a long-standing rival of his that I didn't even know about. Apparently, he didn't know about him either. Whoever this Legendary-Tier vampire is, he's pissed enough to come hunting my kid’s kid in the heart of the Republic."

“Why do you think he was hunting your grandson?” Shiv asked.

The Giantsbane shrugged. "Only a few things will drive someone to do that. My guess is while Samuel was doing whatever he was doing for the Inquisition, he probably killed someone he wasn't supposed to... or was supposed to, and now there's a loose end that traced him back."

Shiv was startled. He didn't know if she was taunting him with how much she knew, deliberately trying to provoke him to reveal himself, or if she simply had that much insight.

Sage of the Enkindled Heart:

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said uncertainly.

Jessica waved him off. "Yeah, it's not really your fault. This life turns out this way when you become a High-Tier martial Pathbearer. And every year you don't die, it stays that way."

She let out a long, tired breath, looking down at her right hand as she opened and closed it a few times. "Now, let me tell you about being exhausted after a good day's work. That's something you enjoy. Being exhausted after you murdered a bunch of people, half of whom you don't think deserved it, well, you don't really sleep after that at all. Instead, you just kind of lie there. Even if you're tired to your core, you lie there with your eyes open, you think about their faces, you wonder who the hells you are and why you're doing this thing, and you curse the System over and over and over again. It's how it goes."

Jessica met Shiv's wide-eyed gaze and simply threw up her hands. "Look, I'm not doing this to freak you out. I'm just giving you a heads-up for if you manage to live that long. Judging from your Curse, though," she winced, "yeah, you're probably not gonna make it that long."

Shiv almost snorted. Jessica Hawgrave was nothing if not a brutal chain of unending honesty. "Anyway, to keep this thing going, not only did I run into a Legendary-Tier vampire who had the entire hospital under his control—though, I'll give the bloodsucker one thing: he didn't murder any of the kids, and he didn't really jack anyone up aside from two Morbomancers. Oh, damn shame what happened to their kid, though. I'm not really sure why the vampire decided to kill their son specifically. Guess there's a grudge there."

Inside Shiv's cape, a pang of deep shame came from Tulveg.

Helix taunted.

Shiv nearly snarled out loud.

Both of them fell quiet, though for different reasons.

Tulveg said, uncertain about his nickname.

Helix sounded on the verge of throwing a fit.

Shiv sighed.

"You alright, son?" Jessica asked. She leaned in close. "You look distracted, like you're speaking to someone inside your head." She went very still.

"Uh, uh, it's just a headache."

"No, no, you're lying." She pointed a finger at his face. "You're lying. I know that face. Psychomancers make that face when they're talking to someone telepathically. You hiding a Psychomancy Skill?"

Shiv cringed, trying to come up with an apt lie. Just then, Jessica's eyes flashed, and he briefly felt his Mask of Stolen Paths rattle. A crack sounded on the inside. Shiv didn't flinch, but inside he pleaded,

Her eyes dimmed again, and she pressed her lips together. "No Psychomancy. But—well, I mean, you're an Adept. Where you from? Up North? Old Brunswick?"

Shiv nodded.

"Okay, that explains a few things. Well, let me guess, you were imagining things? Was it something sexual?" She lifted her left eyebrow. Shiv found himself even more speechless. "Was it about me?"

Shiv's mouth went dry.

Jessica burst out laughing, waving her hand at Shiv as she giggled. "I'm just fucking with you, kid! Relax, relax. It's okay if you do! Just don't say it out loud. It's only wrong if you let the other know. We all have our fantasies."

She stared at him, and the moment lasted too long. It grew to be unbearably uncomfortable. Shiv stammered, "I think you're a little too old for me."