Chapter 157 - Trade Chat VIII

MightKord, Dread_Doom, Scholar, Might_Makes_Right, l33tpally, Darkmore, Darkmore’s Knight, Darkmore’s Bitch, Killjoy, Darkbreaker, Bercilac, Raunaeril, Spooky, Lexichan, Cookie, LivingDeadDrow, Ruva, BrokenMight, Firemane, Daywalker, Lord_Kickass, Duelist, NotTheFace!, DestinedDemon, Magick, Balderdash, Chamber, Sexy_Lady, DoorKicker, Gobby, Anonymous3, Anonymous5, RighteousAmazon, BlessedSoul, Crusader, HolyMage, and Crackle are in the chat.

Scholar: Wow, can’t believe AAO has already been out for a whole year IRL! Seems like just yesterday I got to start delving into the lore of this world.

DoorKicker: Seriously. Although it has been four years in game. Still kindof surprising how things have gone since then.

Crackle: Remember when the biggest news was a PvP between Chainmaker and Chainbreaker?

Scholar: That takes me back. A lot of crazy events have happened since then.

Magick: You mean like a dragon goddess putting a city in a bottle until they killed off the descendants of the people who captured her?

Balderdash: I heard the elves almost had a Zombie Apocalypse, too.

MightKord: And then there was the epic battle to free Duskhaven.

Anonymous3: And just after, someone went and cleaned out the bandits and undead that were making travel to the Tribeslands difficult.

Sexy_Lady: Ooh, and Darkmore kicking open a door to the Abyss.

BlessedSoul: The bastard also got the favor of a Champion of Moradin somehow.

Ruva: There was the first full Guild Raid, and the establishment of a Guild-owned dungeon!

Lexichan: And then there was the whole deal where Sharess basically blessed the capitol of the Drow to have a LOT of children, really fast.

Scholar: The war between the humans and Wyrmwood was intense as hell.

BlessedSoul: And thanks to that, there is a bastion of light in this dark world, with Ograin coming under the jurisdiction of the Temples.

Might_Makes_Right: Hey, BS, didn’t I see you taking out some bandits outside Duskhaven? Just before I could get there and claim their bounty? How did you get that ‘no hitting evil’ thing dropped?

BlessedSoul: After I carried that asshole’s brat to term, and gave her to the temple of Sharess, I talked to Scholar, who pointed me towards a very difficult quest chain. I managed to complete it about two months ago, and the reward was the ability to remove one curse binding my character.

Darkmore: Interesting. And I’m assuming this allowed you to counter the penalty of the Demon’s Duel?

BlessedSoul: Yes, you bastard. Though only partly. Each section of the penalty apparently acts as a separate curse, but one that can’t be removed by normal means. But I can kill evil things again, thanks to the item.

Anonymous3: Was that a single use item?

BlessedSoul: Yes. But the quest is repeatable, if you go through the whole ritual. Since the ritual includes travel, on foot, practically across the world, that isn’t really something most people want to do more than once.

Killjoy: Damn, still, it is pretty cool that there’s an option out there for people who are under some kind of curse that isn’t typically curable.

BrokenMight: Scholar, how much did you sell that quest chain for?

Scholar: Well, my price was pretty reasonable. In addition to a small finder’s fee, I simply required that she bring me along and keep me protected while we worked through the chain, splitting loot evenly, as any party would.

BlessedSoul: The fact that I was still inside the two-year period for being forced to have Courtesan as a profession and practicing it twice a day meant nothing to you, I’m sure.

Chamber: What kind of quest chain takes, what, almost three years to complete?

BlessedSoul: I probably could have completed it earlier if I hadn’t been forced to practice my profession twice a day for two years. I had only suffered for ten months before I was able to get in touch with Scholar.

Scholar: Eh-heh.

Chamber: So you had to take more time off because you got knocked up again?

BlessedSoul: Twice. I’ve pushed out two of his brats already.

Scholar: You still have your figure, though, thanks to the game.

BlessedSoul: Which is the only reason I haven’t killed you.

Scholar: Love you, too, Honey.

Darkmore’s Knight: Oooh! ‘Honey’? Has the vaunted bookworm conquered the heart of the righteous assassin?

BlessedSoul: Well, um, you can’t travel together for that long, constantly, um, ‘practicing my profession’ without some kind of connection happening.

Darkmore: Good on you two. Is it an official match, then, or are you perhaps waiting on the ceremony?

Scholar: Um, you see that’s one of the problems we’ve been working with. We are in different guilds, different churches, and she’s pretty confirmed light side while I’m more neutral, so finding someplace to do the ceremony without causing issues is getting problematic.

Darkmore’s Bitch: Have a small ceremony at a multifaith temple, like you see in some of the smaller towns. That way, you don’t need to deal with the whole ‘whose church do you go to’ thing.

Cookie: And you can send video to anyone who might get upset with the other guests!

Might_Makes_Right: Actually, if you want to make sure not to slight anyone, just invite people you know IRL, if any are in game, and then send the video to everyone in your friends lists and guilds. Small church helps with that, too, since there isn’t room for everyone to show up.

l33tpally: Why not just go with a big space and invite everyone?

MightKord: *sigh* Pally, are you nucking futs? BlessedSoul is a light-sider, and one of the ones who tried hitting Darkmore. Scholar is IRL friends with Johnist, from Aria, and has worked with Darkmore a few times from what we’ve seen on the boards. That’s not going to end well.

Balderdash: Yeah, that’s a situation that would either end in blood, or tears, or sex. Maybe some combination of those.

Darkmore: Hey, I wouldn’t cuckold a friend like that. Now, if they were into sharing, that’s another story entirely, and I’d be willing to loan some exotics to Scholar for ‘research’. Anyways, besides the point. I wouldn’t start something at a wedding I was invited to.

MightKord: But if someone, like the bride, got pissed at you being in sight of her and started something.

Darkmore: Well, yes, I’d have to finish it, obviously.

Lexichan: You most certainly are NOT going to the wedding, then.

Darkmore: Fine, fine.

Cookie: Awww. But it would be so beautiful. Montegues and Capulets and…

Ruva: You do know that most everyone died in that story, right?

Cookie: Details! Insignificant details compared to the romance!

Crusader: Blessed, congratulations on breaking the curse, and on your nuptuals.

HolyMage: Indeed. Many congratulations. Something I’ve been wondering, have you gotten your children tested for classes yet?

Scholar: Well, you’re supposed to wait until they’re 5 to do a full test.

Crackle: But a partial test?

Scholar: Fine, fine. I may have Observed the kids, which didn’t give me much beyond race and gender, as you expect, but they did have titles.

RighteousAmazon: Titles out of the womb? Amazing!

BlessedSoul: We were really surprised, too.

Darkmore: Titles from the womb are rare, but not unheard of, if one or both of the parents are powerful, or have significant titles.

Scholar: Wait, how did you know this but I only found out when I was checking my children?

Darkmore: Servant of the Goddess of Fertility, remember? Also, at last count I had at least fifty children. While ‘Local’ children are rarely born with titles, it seems like all children with a Traveler parent has at least one title at birth.

Crackle: FIFTY?

MightKord: My god. I knew you were going a bit wild, but how…

Darkmore’s Bitch: Servant of Sharess, remember? He has spells that can ensure someone gets pregnant, or keep them from getting pregnant.

Darkmore: What can I say? I’ve been busy spreading my love as far and wide as I can.

Darkmore’s Knight: Just like you did with the Princesses’ legs.

Darkmore: Yes, yes. We all know you prefer it when I lift your tails up from behind.

Lexichan: *giggles*

Cookie: But actually, other than Zayn’s conquests, many of the people in Aria have kids. Seems like when you don’t have those light side rules being all judgy at you about who you sleep with, there are more kids. And we’ve got a temple to Sharess in our village, so…

Crusader: How do you have time for all that? We’ve been busy building up our kingdom, and…

HolyMage: Shh!

Bercilac: Like anyone here doesn’t know that your ‘Crusade’ has basically taken over Ograin and your leader is all but King?

Crusader: Heh.

BrokenMight: Great, there really isn’t keeping any secrets from them.

Cookie: Aww, don’t be like that, not-so-righteous might! You light types are just too visible for your own good if you want to have some secrets.

Darkmore: It is always easier to hide things in the darkness than the light.

Firemane: And the Shadow Alliance is all about hiding in the darkness and finding out secrets.

Dread_Doom: So this is why you’ve been so quiet the last couple years, Darkmore? I mean, we haven’t heard of any real craziness from you since you went and burned down half of Duskhaven.

Darkmore: Yeah, had to spend some time keeping the ladies happy while they were pregnant, and dealing with the headaches of being both a guild leader and a feudal lord. Also went and did some diplomatic visits with the orks, dwarves, and drow, but that’s nothing major.

Scholar: So by your tone, I calculate you’re about to start moving again?

Darkmore: Well, I never really stopped, but yeah, most of the kids ‘in the party’ are about two now, so while they aren’t old enough to go places on their own, it is possible to leave them in the hands of guild members and the like for a little while. We’ve been running the dungeon in Have Dorei to keep in shape and keep the XP trickling in, but now that the kids are a bit older, we’ve got grandparents that would love to see their grandkids (for the Locals in the guild).

l33tpally: So, what kinds of titles do kids of Travelers get, and what do they do?
Scholar: Well, one of mine had the Genius title (+20 INT, +2 INT/Level), and another had Shadowchild (+25% to Stealth & Move Silently, Stealth & Move Silently grow 10% faster). They each had ‘Traveler’s Soul’, but there was no description for it.

Darkmore: Traveler’s Soul is the title that any child of a Traveler gets. Their aging slows once they reach maturity, and if they are killed and not resurrected, then they can respawn 48 hours later, though they take a nasty death penalty for that. Things that would keep a player from respawning (like dying in a permadeath dungeon) keep them from respawning as well.

Scholar: Found that out from your Goddess?

Darkmore: Yeah, it was actually a bit of a surprise to the Goddesses as well, I can tell you, though they mostly were OK with it. Sharess was actually indifferent to that tidbit, and Mirelth was happy that her child would get to grow strong for sure. I’m fairly certain that Lolth cackled on her web for at least a week when she found out. Since it started circulating through the rumor mill, powerful Travelers have been sought out as brood mares and stud horses for the major houses, to breed undying warriors for the various houses.

MightKord: Huh. So is THAT the reason why I got a quest to ‘plow the fertile field’ with a priestess of Mystra?

Scholar: That, or ritual sex magic, perhaps.

MightKord: Do I want to know?

Scholar: Probably not.

Sexy_Lady: Hmm. I wonder what you could get from wealthy nobles or kings or the like to be a surrogate for their kids, if they know that their lines will be almost unkillable…

RighteousAmazon: Uh oh.

Sexy_Lady: Come on, RA! We’ve got to get you prettied up for some compensated dating!

Darkmore: Never change, Sexy.

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Be sure to read my published works!

Frozen Soul series (Sci-Fi Supervillain story):
Frozen Soul https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071R125QT
Tales of the Void Traveler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ52G37

Rules-Free VRMMO Life (Dark Fantasy GameLit):
Volume 1 - Tutorial https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VPRNDB
Omnibus 1 - Volumes 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0774T354X

Into the Black (Sci-Fi GameLit):
Book I - Game Start https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071LT5WGL
Omnibus I - Books 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077X2KR7Y

City of Champions Online (Superhero GameLit):
Issue I - Origin Stories https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075SHXQS1

Lewd Dungeon (Dungeon Core GameLit):
Book 1 - Welcome to the Apocalypse https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BB34DHF

The Kalipshae Affair (A First Contact Short Story): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0739V6R6T