Loopshard Novel Chapter One-Hundred-and-Fifty-Four

No sooner had they found a seat inside the Good Drink tavern than an old man wearing a white apron over a dark shirt and pants ca up to their table.

“You’re new to Moonport, aren’t you?” he asked them.

“That’s right,” Adam replied. He could tell that the man had a request, so he quickly added, “Is there sothing we can help you with?”

“Father Mathias is in need of help with his church repairs, but ever since the disappearances began, workers have been fleeing Moonport en masse. Do you think you could help him out? I miss his morning sermons terribly.”

< < Quest Unlocked > >

< Church Repairs >

< The proprietor of the Good Drink would like you to help Father Mathias repair his church >

“We’ll seek him out,” Adam assured the old man.

“Thank you. Now then, would you like to order sothing to eat or drink?” he asked.

“Maybe in a little bit,” Adam said, deflecting the question about money before it could co up.

As the proprietor returned to the back of the tavern, where a bar and kitchen were located, Aeran said, “What is the point of the quest? It sounds like a waste of ti.”

“There’s a secret boss at the end of it,” Adam told him. “And completing these quests will weaken the Patriarch since more civilians will be blessed by the priest and carry holy items.”

“Do the vampires only attack at night?” Sofia asked.

“Although they are weaker in sunlight, they may ambush us in dark parts of the city or inside certain houses,” he replied. “And as more and more civilians are attacked, the city will fill with ghouls. I think we should do everything we can to complete the church quest today, and then we’ll hunt down the bloodfiends, since I have a way of tracking them.”

They were all surprised by that last statent, since it sounded like it would trivialise the Stage’s challenge, but it was hardly a bluff. After all, Adam possessed the compass which, although not foolproof since it could lead to the object of one’s desire in roundabout ways, gave them sothing to follow. Although it didn’t seem to respond to his command to show him where the Godstone was. Fortunately though, now that he’d had ti to calm his mind and slowly expand his sphere of perception with the Mandate of Blood, Adam was able to notice unique lodies dotted throughout the area. Two were unmistakably produced by bloodfiends, since they were human in shape but with strong emotions like desire, lust, and hunger, which were more akin to that of animals. Their lodies were also stronger than that of humans, as though indicating that they had more powerful hearts or sothing. He noted down their locations for now, but his true hunt would co later.

“Let us get going then,” Aeran said impatiently.

“I think we should first take a mont to talk about our patron quests,” Adam said.

Luo nodded. “That seems like a good idea.”

“I know what kind of quest you have,” Sofia said, looking at Adam with a grim expression. “You have to kill one of us.”

Luo who was sitting next to Adam pulled back, while Závi and Aeran reconsidered their opinions of him and subtly prepared for a fight.

“That’s incorrect,” Adam replied calmly.

“A Flayed Lady worshipper in my tower group said that!” she exclaid.

“It’s true that in Alepheria’s Tower I had to kill another Player,” Adam replied, “but for the last Stage my objective was to destroy the White Flags, and in this Stage it is to kill all of the bloodfiends.”

“Is that why you look like a vampire?” Závi asked.

“It is,” Adam said. “The Flayed Lady created the bloodfiends, but the ones of this Stage broke free from her influence when they obtained half of the Godstone. I think my transformation is ant to allow

to blend in and gain their confidence before I kill them, since my patron is the Lord of Betrayal.”

“How are we supposed to trust soone who worships a God like that?” Aeran responded.

Adam could tell by Aeran’s lody that he believed his words, but he clearly wanted to be in charge, and making Adam out to be untrustworthy would serve that purpose.

He looked the ssir worshipper right in the eye and said, “Your patron allows you to appraise those who worship the Flayed Lady in much more detail than other adherents, so you tell . After all, you claid to have the ability to know when soone is lying. My goal for this Stage is for all of us to survive. I have had enough betrayal and mayhem in my previous groups, so don’t let who I worship taint the image you have of .”

The others looked to Aeran for a verdict, and though Adam could tell he contemplated lying to take over leadership of their group, he eventually said, “He is telling the truth.”

Adam looked at the others in turn. “My quest is pretty dangerous, since it involves taking on a secret boss known as the Matriarch. I won’t force anyone to help

fight her, but since I’ve seen what secrets this Stage offers, I can help everyone get a lot of Points.”

“That would be appreciated,” Aeran said.

Sofia still seed distrustful of Adam, but he would show her through his actions that she needn’t be afraid of him.

Though it would be easier if I didn’t look like this.

“I have to free a young thief from jail,” Závi then said. “The All-Mother cares a lot about children.”

“That must be in the Garrison district,” Adam replied. “It should be straight east of here at the other end of Moonport.”

“I need to find three judges and appraise them,” Aeran said. Adam had already heard the sa description from Lasse and Beck, so he knew he was telling the truth.

“We might have to go to the Wine district for that,” Adam said. “That’s where the aristocracy reside. It’s to the southeast.”

Aeran nodded.

“My quest is to create a Changeling Mask,” Luo said.

“Mine too,” Sofia added.

Adam scratched the corner of his mouth. “Maybe we can find a clue in the Artisan district to the south, but that one seems a bit more esoteric than the other quests.”

“I should get an Orb of Insight myself,” Aeran remarked. “The fact that it tells you the layout of the world is invaluable.”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

Adam nodded, before looking at the two Nharlla worshippers. “Have both of you encountered mimics?”

“Do you an the one that impersonated Redbeard in the last Stage?” Luo asked. “We blew it up with a ballista.”

Adam shook his head. “I’m not talking about the Half Mimic. I’m referring to the weakness tied to worshipping Nharlla, which causes a human mimic to appear in a Stage with a worshipper. It’s apparently not guaranteed to happen in every Stage, but if you haven’t encountered one yet then it may spawn in Moonport.”

“I fought one in the tower,” Sofia said. “We couldn’t defeat it.”

“I was wondering where it ca from,” Závi comnted. “I encountered one in the last Stage when I entered the Godstone Temple. They are difficult to kill.”

“What do you an by weakness?” Aeran asked, picking up on Adam’s specific wording.

“Every boon cos with a weakness,” Adam told him. “For , that weakness is my transformation into a vampire.”

It wasn’t the complete truth, since he was sure paranoia was also a part of it, but telling them that was a bad idea.

“Mine must be the soul wing,” Závi comnted.

“And what about mine?” Aeran asked.

Adam grinned slightly. “You take double damage from worshippers of the Flayed Lady.”

He blinked in surprise, before frowning as he realised Adam was telling the truth.

Most would’ve called that bullshit, so maybe it’s true that he can detect lies. It’s possible that it only works when he is appraising , but it clearly isn’t foolproof.

Adam knew he’d gotten a lot better with telling half-truths and misrepresenting facts, but he thought it was a proper testant to his skill when he could get away with lying directly to an adherent of ssir.

Aeran got up from his seat and Závi stood up too. “Alright, we have discussed our quests and determined the best course of action, so we should head for the church.”

Adam got up as well and the last two followed. “Would you like to lead the way?” he asked Aeran. “You must’ve spotted the church from the tower earlier.”

It was amusing how much that single vote of confidence sent a jolt through Aeran’s lody. Clearly he enjoyed when people flattered him, which Adam thought would make him easy to manipulate into following along.

With soone like this, all I have to do is make him believe he ca up with the plan.

They left the Good Drink tavern and headed north towards the church, following Aeran’s lead. Just like the city of Venice which Moonport must’ve been modelled off of, the streets between the buildings were narrow and full of 90-degree turns, and there were plenty of small canals criss-crossing the Pious district, requiring them to go up-and-down several bridges.

It was clear that running along the rooftops would be more expedient, but at least for now Adam had convinced them all to keep a low profile, though it didn’t stop Aeran and Závi from showing off their mobility as they jumped along walls and leapt across bridges.

Since Adam was supposedly the mirror image of many bloodfiends, he had pulled his Mage Aspirant’s Cowl down low over his face, leaving it mostly covered in shadow. The proprietor of the Good Drink hadn’t seed to register his complexion as sothing dangerous, but it was all but guaranteed that this wouldn’t last. It was almost like the Flayed Lady wanted him to be betrayed by the people of Moonport he was fighting to protect by taking on the vampires.

The mont they reached the plaza before the rundown church, an objective announcent flashed to life.

< < Optional Stage Objective > >

< Help Father Mathias with his church >

The church had a modest fa??ade of white stone, with engraved marble around the solid wooden doors depicting winged spirits holding round sun-like objects. Above the entrance was a large round window, though it was partially destroyed. The plaza was almost completely abandoned, except for a few elderly people sitting by a table in front of a nearby restaurant and talking loudly as they drank coffee.

Aeran led them to the half-open door of the church, and they were t by a musty darkness as they went inside. The only light that entered the church interior were a few errant strays coming through the large fa??ade window, but none of them reached the floor. After their eyes adjusted to the dark, which seed quicker for Adam and Aeran, they saw how the pews within were smashed to bits and the altar at the back was missing its central reliquary.

Past the broken pews and up on the marble steps of the altar sat a man in black robes, squeezing an ornate to in his hands. He had a shaven and handso face, shoulder-length silky black hair, and wore a pair of black-rimd glasses.

As the sounds of their boots on the marble floor caught his attention, he quickly got to his feet and squinted into the darkness to see who was coming.

“The church is closed, as you can see,” he announced in a sturdy voice that carried across the interior with the ease of habitual practice. His lody emanated caution and sorrow.

“We ca because the proprietor of the Good Drink sent us,” Aeran said, taking the lead on the conversation before Adam had the chance.

I don’t particularly need to be in charge to keep everyone safe, so it’s not that I really mind it.

“He really shouldn’t have,” the priest said. “I have little to offer in return for your help.”

< < Quest Updated > >

< Church Repairs >

< Find a way to help Father Mathias repair his church >

“You should ask your congregation for help,” Aeran replied cunningly as he noticed the quest update. “They wish to see the church restored.”

“It would be inappropriate of

to seek for such a thing,” the priest argued.

“Not at all,” Aeran went on as the distance between them shrunk. “Churches are for the people, and it would be unrealistic to think you alone should cover all costs related to reconstruction. Unless whoever rules Moonport is willing to pitch in with the funds required for rebuilding.”

“You must be new to the city if you believe the aristocrats care about the Pious district,” Father Mathias replied sourly.

“Soone needs to care about it then,” Aeran said, his voice full of conviction. “From what the tavern proprietor told us, you are clearly such a figure to the community. I think you will find that many are seeking the revival of your sermons, and if not for your own pride barring their entry, I am sure they would sit atop these broken seats in the dark to listen to you speak. A small donation from each mber of your congregation is all you need to ask for.”

He’s making a lot of assumptions, but they seem to be right, based on how Father Mathias is responding to them.

From his lody, Adam could tell that Aeran didn’t feel particularly passionate about what he was saying, but he wouldn’t have known that when he looked at his face or listened to his argunts.

This guy definitely knows how to sell a story to get to his desired outco.

I wonder if that’s how Závi ended up being his lapdog.

Unsurprisingly, the priest seed to co around to the ‘greater good’ speech that Aeran was feeding him.

He sighed. “You are right, stranger. I have let my pride control my decisions, when the answer was right there in front of . The First Light teaches us that unity and bonds are what build strong bridges, and that a single pillar cannot support a roof. I will speak to my congregation and ask for donations.”

“My na is Aeran,” he replied and offered his hand to the priest. “This here is my team. We ca to Moonport to slay the bloodfiends.”

“So it’s true,” Father Mathias muttered sadly. “There have been rumours, and of course the many disappearances, but the city guard have yet to declare a state of ergency. If you would like, you are welco to spend the night in the church once the repairs are complete.”

“Would it not be possible before then?” Aeran asked.

“I’m afraid not,” Father Mathias said without explaining why.

Adam sensed the shift in Aeran’s lody as he clearly slled sothing off about that response.

“I have heard tell of a necromancer in this district. It would not happen to be related to that, would it?” he inquired.

Father Mathias lowered his head.

“It’s a shaful thing, but you are indeed correct. A monster has taken over the crypt, and at night he roams the church and its garden. Every morning I find sothing new that has been broken or a grave that has been robbed. I’m truly at a loss for how to respond. I cannot in my right mind hold sermons while such a beast slumbers below the church, but I also cannot abandon this place. There is only one entrance to the crypts, and I had thought to seal it off.”

“We can deal with him,” Aeran said confidently.

“It is too dangerous a thing to ask of you,” the priest said reluctantly.

“We are already on the hunt for bloodfiends, so what is one asly necromancer?” he argued in return.

“Your ttle is comndable. Very well, I will open the crypt for you, but first I require the church’s sacred reliquary be returned. The defilent of the dead is not a simple thing to dispel, and without the symbol of my Lord’s powers, I do not possess the strength to cast his cleansing light.”

< < Quest Updated > >

< Church Repairs >

< Retrieve the church reliquary >

Inwardly, Aeran seed to frown, though his face showed only patience. “Did the necromancer steal it too?”

“He would not be able to touch it,” Father Mathias replied. “The unholy would burn in its presence. No, it was stolen two weeks ago. I believe it may be in the Cloth district, since the thieves of Moonport are known to reside within its streets.”

“Did the necromancer appear after the reliquary was stolen?” Adam asked. Aeran cast him an annoyed glance.

“Indeed,” the priest said.

“Then we will go to the Cloth district and retrieve it for you,” Aeran promised.

“Be careful. The thieves are unkind to outsiders,” Father Mathias said.

“They are only human,” Aeran responded in a tone that implied nothing could stand in his way.

With that, they left the church and headed east in search of the reliquary.