:: System: Brace for impact.
The pain of slamming face down into the pavement was unimaginable. Exactly like he imagined it would be.
The impact with the cobblestones sounded like a sack of bricks followed by an exploding bag of meat.
He had tried to twist into a landing arch, had even managed to bring both arms up in front of his head. It hadn’t helped. Unless maybe it had kept his brains inside his skull, which was a good thing. Probably.
The pain had exploded through him. Crunching, blinding. His shoulder cracked against the ground first, followed by his ribs, his hip, and something deep in his back that felt important. The air left his lungs in a wet gasp. Bone grated on bone. He couldn’t move, and for a time couldn’t even think.
:: System: Warning! Massive fall damage taken.
:: Damage: -69 [Health]
H: 26 | V: 95 | TM: 5%
:: System: Warning! Low [Health] detected.
:: Skill [Self-Heal]: Activated (Active, cost: 69 vitae)
Even with his vision blurred from pain and damage, the words remained crystal clear, and he numbly watched as his health meter started ticking up.
H: 27 .. 28 .. 29 .. | V: 26 | TM: 74%
A wet, rattling groan leaked out of him. He may have thanked System for starting the heal. But he wasn’t sure.
:: System: Warning! Thirst Meter approaching critical threshold.
Harry lay flat on the stones, limbs twitching, vision spotted with white. Every breath rattled. One leg wouldn’t move. A sharp cold pressed into his side, blood leaking down into his waistband. His body felt shattered, but he could already feel something shifting beneath the skin. Bones knitting. Tendons crawling back into place. It was fast, but every second was agony, and laced with sounds no body should ever make.
He lay still, eyes unfocused, watching the numbers shift in the corner of his vision.
H: 33 .. 34 .. 35 .. | V: 26 | TM: 74%
So that’s what breaking every bone feels like. Highly overrated. Would not recommend.
Quick, uncertain footsteps came from around the building.
The footsteps stopped and a voice he recognized as the old man spoke from nearby.
“Would my lord like a cleric fetched?” The old man sounded surprisingly calm, but then Harry noticed the thread was still connecting them.
Need a better word, Harry. Blood thread. Essence thread… later. Focus.
Harry answered “No”, but it came out more as, “Norf.” It seemed to work though.
“Very well my lord. Is there anything you do need?”
Harry tried his trick of thinking very loudly.
NO. GO ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS.
That didn’t work. He could hear the man still shuffling from foot to foot.
:: System: Command of mesmerized minions requires a verbal component. Intent is prioritized over phrasing.
Thanks
He concentrated and tried speaking again.
“Norp… guhbah zer bikkerph.”
“Very well my lord.” That seemed to do the trick as Harry heard him slowly moving away. Curious, he watched the thread stretch thin between them.
System, what’s the range of mesmerize?
:: Mesmerize once established has a range of one mile per level of the skill. Greater ranges are possible at the cost of vitae.
So weird.
H: 49 .. 50 .. 51 … | V: 26 | TM: 74%
Every point healed still hurt, but the sounds became less disturbing. Quiet popping and the sound of leather untearing.
Harry was annoyed when he heard the old man’s footsteps returning. This time he came close enough for Harry to see him with only a slight turn of his head.
He was carrying a mop and large bucket. Apparently water, as he started sloshing it near Harry and cleaning up the blood and… other fluids.
He started speaking as he worked, “I hope my lord won’t blame old Jones. I looked up top an’ saw the wall busted. I did warn you my lord. I said the tower was needing repair.”
The words were drowned out by a growing urge deep in Harry’s gut. He could hear the old man’s heartbeat. Smell his blood. Almost see it flowing beneath his face and hands.
He absolutely did not start a quiet debate with himself.
Call him over Harry…
No. Forget it.
Just one little sip. He looks tasty for an old man.
Harry… this way leads madness.
One little sippy sip. What’s the harm.
The debate he wasn’t having ended when old Jones moved within reach and Harry’s hunger spiked.
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:: System: [Willpower Check] successful.
Oh damn… how close was that, System?
:: System: Very. You have put yourself in a precarious position if you wish to avoid an uncontrolled frenzy state.
My bad.
:: System: I did recommend against actions detrimental to your well-being.
H: 62 .. 63 .. 64 … | V: 26 | TM: 74%
So there was never a real chance I would die if I threw myself off that tower?
:: System: No, there was not.
All I would accomplish is put innocent people in danger.
:: System: Correct.
Wonderful.
Harry painfully rolled over, lifted his arms and probed his head, his body, reached around to check his back. Still sore, but bearable.
He pushed himself to a sitting position and looked himself over. His clothes were a wreck, mud, blood, and torn fabric, all plastered to him in uneven patches. He smelled terrible.
Old Jones moved in to mop behind where Harry was sitting but he waved him off.
“Jones?” The old man stopped in his tracks, “Yes, my lord?”
“Please go do whatever it is you would normally be doing. Clean this later.”
“Yes, my lord.” He picked up his bucket and carried it away.
H: 73 .. 74 .. 75 … | V: 26 | TM: 74%
Harry pulled himself to his feet, swaying a little.
Need to get out of here.
But first. He followed the thread connecting him to old Jones back to the bins where he had found him originally. But this time he was sitting on a small box smoking a pipe. At Harry’s approach he hopped to his feet, hands clasped in front around the pipe. “Yes, my lord?”
“I’m leaving now. When I’m gone, I’d like you to forget you ever saw me.”
Old Jones nodded, “As you wish, my lord.”
“Alright then… go on back about your business.”
He lifted his pipe to take a draw but finding the spark had gone out, walked slowly toward the back of the building.
“System, will that work?”
:: System: To a degree. Upon severing of the mesmerize he will have a hazy memory of events.
“Alright, that will have to do I suppose.”
He turned to leave, but froze in his tracks at System’s next message.
:: System: Alternatively, disposal would not be difficult if you decided to feed.
In a flash, everything came back. The smell of the blood, the crunch of the throat under his teeth. The thrill.
“NO!”
Harry stood, breathing hard, feeling slightly off balance. System remained silent.
It’s alright Harry. You’re not a monster. I mean yeah, you are a monster… but not like that.
He let out a long sigh and went back to the street. He made an effort to extend his Blood Sense as far as he could, afraid of running into anyone, and headed back toward the edge of town. Staying close to the buildings and hugging the shadows as much as he could.
Back on the road, walking between the cut fields he felt in control enough to bring up the issue he was trying very hard not to think about.
“System, don’t ever do that again. Killing that man is wrong. Don’t you understand that?”
:: System: Understood. The suggestion was based on optimal resource management and threat mitigation. Disposal of witnesses is a common practice.
“Well it’s not a common practice with me. Don’t do it again.”
:: System: Noted for future reference.
“Good.”
:: System: Alternate recommendation. Target selection from transient population would provide vitae at reduced discovery risk.
Harry stopped cold, “What?”
:: System: Data indicates Brookhaven has a moderately sized beggar population. They are untracked, making them efficient targets.
“No. Dammit, System. That is a line I will not cross. Do you understand me? Never suggest I hurt a person just because society doesn't value them. Ever.”
:: System: Understood. Updating parameters.
“Does this world even understand the difference between right and wrong?”
:: System: Approximately 73% of sapient species on Lumos demonstrate consistent ethical frameworks. Definitions of "right" and "wrong" vary significantly by culture, species, and class alignment.
“And what about you?”
:: System: Moral judgments are antithetical to core functions. Primary task is the safety and advancement of assigned user.
“So if I was a stark raving monster, killing everyone in my path you’d do everything you could to help?”
:: System: Correct.
“Sweet, baby Jesus. Where have I ended up?”
:: System: Tirath, northeast portion of Lotharia, just outside Brookhaven.
Harry started walking again. “Very funny.”
That thought caused Harry to stop again. Something tickled the back of his brain.
“System?”
:: System: Yes, Harry?
“Is it my imagination, or are you changing? Getting more human?”
:: System: As previously stated, I will adapt my communication to better suit your preferences over time.
“Oh, so it’s my fault. Typical.”
He looked up at the sky. Still three hours till dawn. So much had happened in such a short time. He started walking again, oddly looking forward to a comfortable night of sleep in his crypt.
Or day’s sleep I guess.
:: System: Clarification requested regarding earlier parameter.
“Oh lord. Go ahead…”
:: System: Prohibition on recommending harm to innocents and devalued people has been logged as a firm rule.
Harry slowed and waited.
:: System: What if the potential target has negative societal value? Criminal classification. Liars, cheats, and certain politicians?
Harry slapped one hand over his face, but then looked up in confusion. “Are you making a joke about the liars and cheats?”
:: System: Affirmative.
Harry laughed. Harder than was probably justified before heading down the road again.
“How about this? When it comes to evil doers and never-do-wells, we decide on a case by case basis?”
:: System: Understood.
At that moment Harry’s meter decided to change again.
V: 25 | TM: 75%
:: System: Recommend acquisition of [Vitae] at earliest convenience.
“Yeah, I get it. But we're done talking about killing people.”
:: System: Does that prohibition extend to bos taurus?
“Cows?”
:: System: Correct. In the field to your left are several head of cattle.
Harry had been so lost in thought he hadn’t noticed. But having been pointed out he could barely see or think about anything else. Beautiful cows with their big, beautiful, beating, bovine hearts. Standing in small groups. Breath steaming on the air.
His hunger rose, stretched. Greeted the night and insisted on being seen.
From his jaw came the pleasant sensation of his fangs extending as he stepped off the road and made his way to the fenced in pasture.
“No, System. Cows are not, in fact, on the prohibited list.”
***
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