As we’re walking to the main keep, I notice that Krouven is hanging back a little. Soon the guards around us stop paying attention to him as they open the doors, revealing an unusually happy Humphrey.

“Serf Tee, how wonderful that you could join us today. Guards, please escort him to the Moonlight room.”

He turns around, and the guards push me to follow. Trying to keep as much of my dignity intact as possible, I straighten my back. There’s no chance of Krouven not filming this.

We reach a large, nearly empty room. Various shiny objects are hung around the walls, with three skylights being the only source of light in the room. The flooring is well polished hardwood, nearly obscuring old scuffmarks.

Skill increased: Perception.

In the middle of the floor is the body of a man, surrounded by some more guards and the baron. As soon as he sees me, he gives me a look of absolute fury.

“You, you vagabond. You dare show your face here after what you’ve done?”

Another prod from behind prompts me to move towards him. The body on the floor is of a big man. His clothes indicate he’s some kind of aristocrat, and his hands tell me there hasn’t been a lot of hard work in his life. He doesn’t strike me as a magic user however. I bow to the baron when I get closer.

“My lord, I am at your service.”

Skill increased: Etiquette.

Behind me, Humphrey snorts at my courtesy, but the baron seems to appreciate it.

“Well?”

I look at him.

“I don’t understand, my lord. Who is this man?”

A sharp intake of breath behind me. Humphrey hamming it up for the audience I guess. The barons eyes darken.

“This man is my personal taster. Anything I am to eat, he tastes first. Would you like to guess what his last meal was?”

I blink in confusion, which seems to antagonise the man more.

“Your damned vegetables! The box Grimguard brought back. He ate from the shipment. He even complimented the flavour. Then, during the surge ball, he dies. It was an absolute disaster. My guests left in a panic. Nobody will come to my feast when they know my taster died eating some of the supplies!”

By the end of his tirade he’s breathing heavily. I look at the dead man, contemplating my next move.

“I’m innocent. I didn’t do anything.”

He looks at me with incredulity. He’s about to say something when the doors swing open, and a procession of servants walk in. Each of them carries a silver tray except the first two who carries a small table and chair. Placing them in front of me, the next three servants in line place plates of umbral dweller dishes on the table. The baron gestures for me to sit.

“You will eat, and you will suffer the same fate as my loyal taster.”

When I don’t make a move to sit, two guards force the issue, placing me in front of the plate. I take a breath, preparing to eat it. Hopefully there isn’t any poison in here.

Quest received: I didn’t do it!You stand(sit) accused of attempting to poison the baron. Normally, this would call for an execution. Since the baron seems to like his theatrics, he’s giving you a chance to prove your innocence.Proving you didn’t do it: All charges will be dropped.Finding who did it: The baron will apologise.Failing to find who did it: Lowered reputation with the baron.Failing to prove your innocence: You will be executed and banned from the keep. All local reputations will drop. - Select crop for planting. (multiple choices available).

I pick up the helpfully provided utensils and get to work. I go for the steamed dish first. A bit bland, but with a slightly metallic aftertaste. When no status ailments pop up, I move on to the next. Shavings of the vegetable swim around in a distressingly teal soup. It’s managed to cool down already, but I pick my way through the coagulated mess. There’s a strong taste of pepper coming through the creamy soup, making the entire meal rich and delightful. By the end of the bowl there’s still no negative effect, other than a deep feeling of satiation. A quick glance at the guards makes it clear that they’re not satisfied yet, so I go for the last dish. Roast, caramellised dwellers in a sweet, buttery gravy. I’m generally not a big fan of sweets, but this is amazing. With an effort I finish the plate, scraping it clean, before I lean back, breathing heavily.

Skill increased: Perception.Skill increased: Cooking.

The baron looks annoyed, but he’s clearly having doubts about what’s happening. I stand up stretching before I address him.

“Not dying yet.”

I nod at the guards.

“Mind calling them off? It’s not like I can escape if you decide to keep me here.”

With only slight hesitation he nods back, ordering the guards to stand down. Humphrey jumps to obey and soon there’s only two left in the room with me, the baron and Krouven. I turn to the body on the floor.

“Do you mind if I check it out?”

A flash of distaste crosses the barons face before he agrees. This is clearly not sitting well with him, but I guess he’s running out of options.

Skill increased: Social Perception.

I kneel next to the body on the floor, removing the sheet on top. A smell of decay hits me, exacerbated by my enhanced olfactory sense. I tune it down as I look closer.

The man is fat. There’s no nice way of saying it. There’s rolls of flesh everywhere. His clothing seems to be made by sowing together several sets of clothing. Krouven comes closer to get a better look. I gesture to the body.

“Do you see anything unexpected?”

He looks at me, then back to the corpse.

“Other than the sheer size of him? Not really.”

He taps him with a foot, and the entire man jiggles for few seconds. The baron huffs in outrage.

“Stop that immediately. He was a brave and loyal friend and your behaviour is wildly inappropriate. If you don’t start acting appropriately I’m going to…”

I hold up a hand to stop him, which only causes more spluttering and anger. Ignoring him, I prod Krouven. When I have his attention, he looks where I’m pointing.

“Is… Is he still jiggling?”

Standing up, I take a step away from the corpse.

“Yes he is. Do you have a knife?”

He hands me a steel blade. Neither of our eyes leave the body on the floor. I move closer, slowly reaching out to the clothes. With unsure movements I start cutting the dead nobles clothing. With the strain his body was putting on the poor fabric, it doesn’t take much before the clothes rip, exposing the mountain of flesh in all it’s glory. The baron actually yelps, turning away. The guards come towards us, swords at ready. Right there on his tremendous gut is a wound I’ve seen before. Like he’s been stabbed by an oversized syringe. I look at Krouven. He’s staring with wide eyes.

“Are you ready?”

He glances at me.

“Ready for what?”

I shrug.

“Lets find out.”

Right before the guards reach us I plunge the dagger into the body, close to the wound. A piercing shriek forces the guards back as I fall on my ass. I backpedal as skin tears, lines radiating from the dagger. With a wet sound, an insect crawls out from the ruined cavity. While the baron screams in terror and the guards shout for backup I’m stunned for a moment. The similarity between the three bugs coming towards me and the children of Vlykkhyhs is uncanny. With a bad feeling, I try to get to my feet as the creatures spread out.

The first one comes straight at me. Looking around me for the dagger, I’m unable to prevent it from jumping at me. With a heavy impact it hits my chest, knocking me back again. I grab it’s carapace, trying to hold it away from my soft flesh, finding it much softer than expected. Probably hasn’t hardened yet. Out of the corner of my eye I see two guards protecting the baron while Krouven has a bow out, carefully aiming at the one heading for him. I’m shaken out of my reverie by a sharp pain in my chest, followed by a bout of coughing.

You have been struck for 60% damage.Your lung is infected by unknown parasite.

It’s job done, the creature turns and heads towards the baron as I finally get to my knees. I double over immediately, coughing until my vision goes blurry before I catch another breath. I’m about to call out to warn the baron about the new threat when an arrow screams through the air. Impacting next to the bug, it draws everyones attention long enough for the guards to dispatch their first insect. Another yelp escapes the baron as he runs to hide behind his guards. Krouven fires again, hitting the monster with a hollow smack. The only sound left in the room is a scratching noise from the bug that attacked the ranger in the first place. Covered in a sticky substance, it’s legs move ceaselessly to get out of it’s predicament. As another coughing fit comes over me, I see Krouven calmly put a wooden cage over the insect, trapping it. Soon after, I pass out.

***

“Is he still alive?”

It feels like I’m floating.

“Yeah, but not for long. We need him awake for this next part.”

I’m not sure who that is. He sounds familiar. A slap across the face brings me out of my reverie.

“Welcome back, Tee. Sorry about this next part.”

Krouven is floating above me with a smoking branch in his hand. It smells strongly of garlic and cloves. As he jabs it into my chest I wake up fully, screaming.

Skill increased: First aid.Skill increased: Herbalism.

***

You are suffering from debuff: Critical injury (lung)- Until healed, your max stamina is capped at 50%.- Until healed, your max HP is capped at 75%.

I sit up slowly, trying to get my bearings. I’m in a room, with a cheap bed, a window and a desk. Standing up, I feel like I’m already running out of breath. Looking at my chest, I see a large bandage. I stumble to the window and open it, finding a view of the courtyard. I’m in the inn. I can see the sun slowly sinking towards the horizon, bathing the keep in an orange glow. The red moon is already climbing, and for a few moments a peaceful feeling spreads in my body.

“Shit!”

Quarns debt. I hobble towards the door, nearly toppling a guard standing outside as I open it. I’m about to move past him as he stops me.

“Serf Tee. The baron wishes to meet with you when you feel well enough.”

I nod at him, moving to the stairs.

“Yes, fine, I’ll get there as soon as I can, I just have an errand to attend.”

Descending the stairs is slow going at first, but the guard shows enough decency to help me down. I give a quiet thought to the games creators for making it such an immersive experience. Where else could you lose hours and get all this pain at the same time. I growl to myself as I reach the bottom and head to the door.

“Tee! Where are you going?”

Yadras voice stops me. I turn around painfully to see an expression of worry on her face. She’s not even trying to hide it now. I smile a little before a cough catches me off guard.

“You god damn idiot, you shouldn’t be up already. Adventurer or no, you’re going to make it worse!”

She tries to drag me to the bar, but as soon as I recover from the cough I stop.

“I can’t delay. I need to go to Quarn and settle my debt. I have to give him Reynard, or he’ll have me arrested.”

Both her and the guard looks at me with incredulity. She grabs my throat, pulling me closer as she stares into my eyes.

“How much?”

I roll my eyes.

“I can’t take your money, Yadra. I’m…”

She squeezes, shutting me up.

“For Reynard and the cart. How much do you want for them?”

I blink a few times until I realise what she’s getting at. Looking down, I answer in a small voice.

“Fifteen gold.”

She snorts, letting me go.

“I’ll give you twenty. Deal?”

Looking at the guard, I find him looking just as confused as I am. I nod slowly.

“Okay. Deal.”

She instructs the guard to restrain me, as she walks out of the inn. I let him lead me to the bar and sit down, waiting. A few people complain about the lack of service, but they shut up quickly when the barons man glares at them.

Your debt to Quarn has been cleared.

Soon, Yadra comes back. She has a smug look on her face as she sits on the stool next to me.

“So I just handed away all my savings and then some. Now what should I do about the ornery creature I’ve been saddled with?”

I smile at her before I hug her.

“I’m sure I could help you out, watch the creature, maintain the cart. I could even lease it from you for say five gold?”

She snorts.

“I was talking about you. Damn straight you’re taking Reynard.”