Tabula Rasa: Adventures In A New World

Krvavy’s sharp and carnivorous teeth lightly gnaw at the inside of her cheek, her mind racing as she makes her way through the wide streets of Raseyne, walking towards the morning sun.

The straps of her heavy backpack dig into this Drakling’s shoulders. But she hardly even notices that ever so slight discomfort. The loose crowds of countless random people part around her, giving this barbarian plenty of personal space. But, again, she hardly even notices that.

“Hhhhhh...” A slow hiss of a sigh squeezes its way free from her mouth.

Of all the thoughts popping in and out of Krvavy’s head, one has a bit more... presence... than the others. Where most are more like murmured whispers or idle comments, this one is almost as if someone was constantly shouting into her ear. It is much more annoying, blasting through her skull like some sort of deafening heartbeat...

And it only seems to grow louder as she moves further and further away from the rich part of Raseyne. Further and further away from... the Countess’ estate.

That brief thought causes the Drakling’s scowl to deepen even further. Not because of any ill will towards Rina, but because Krvavy’s traitorous mind will just not shut the fuck up.

‘Countess Alexandrina Yuliya Marzannavich is a dangerous woman.’

The more Krvavy finds herself thinking that, or some variation of it, the more pissed off she becomes.

Of course the Countess of Raseyne is dangerous! She is wealthy and powerful! She has a whole city and an army at her command, presumably! She has mysterious magics and those purple arcane flames that she playfully threatened Krvavy with!

‘Rina is dangerous.’

Yeah, obviously.

But not solely because of the obvious power she wields. Nor the potential threats of violence she can easily levy against Krvavy.

No, the Countess’ true danger comes from just how captivating she is. Not just physically, though she is gorgeous and beyond beautiful, but because of... of everything about her. She is far too good at carrying on a conversation. It is far too easy to talk to her. It is far too easy to cling onto her every word. To be mesmerized by the musical sound of her laughter... To be charmed by her smile...

‘Rina is very dangerous.’

That annoyingly obvious and constantly repeating thought isn’t some sort of instinctual attempt at self-preservation, some cautioning words meant to make her turn back. It is far too late for that. No, it is panicked realization, if anything.

Krvavy has only spent two nights the Countess, and she is already feeling like she might be falling for the pink-skinned, raven haired, half Moon Elf woman.

Which is a problem. For a variety of reasons. And... it is also rather embarrassing, maybe even shameful. Is Krvavy really that easy? Is she really that weak? Is a simple crush enough to leave her so... conflicted and frustrated?

No.

If it was just a crush, then she could brush it all aside. Krvavy knows that she is clingy and possessive. It is only natural that she would be attracted to the Countess, a woman who has pretty much presented herself as perfect. A bit of time and distance would be enough to make that feeling fade away, especially since she already has four loving girls waiting for her back home.

But... it isn’t just a feeling.

The very first thing Krvavy saw when she woke up this morning was a notification hovering in front of her eyes.

+5 Divine Favour, for reaching a total of five regular sexual partners.

New trait gained: Libidinous Lifestyle.

According to whatever magic, power, or being that is behind these popups, Rina is now considered a regular sexual partner for Krvavy. What they had together wasn’t just a one ti– a two time thing.

But... what exactly are they to each other? Fuckbuddies? Something more?

That question is the source of all this stupid stress. That damned question has been hanging over her head all morning. And it will almost certainly be hanging over her head for the next few days as well...

Why did she have to get that notification so early?! Couldn’t it have waited at least a few hours?! Did it really need to ruin her day before it even began...?! Did it really need to ruin the breakfast she had with the Countess...?

Krvavy can only hope that her clear and obvious unease this morning was just seen as her being anxious to go home, to see her girls again... Because there is absolutely no way that Rina didn’t pick up on it, and Krvavy doesn’t want the Countess to think that she was the reason Krvavy was so uncomfortable.

Though... would that be so bad?

Doing something to ruin whatever relationship that there is between her and the Countess would solve this annoying internal conflict that Krvavy is currently having... It would also make her feel like a piece of shit, and she would definitely be filled with regret, but it is the easy way out...

After all, Krvavy can’t have the Countess. She knows that. No matter how much she may want her, Rina is simply out of her reach. The Countess of Raseyne cannot be with a savage barbarian like herself, and neither can she bring Rina back home with her. Not without putting all of her girls in danger, at least. And that isn’t a risk she is willing to take.

So whatever relationship they might have is doomed to be long distance. And Krvavy isn’t sure if she can handle that. If she could deal with the fact that one of her girls is over a weeks travel away... To even visit Rina would mean that she would have to spend nearly two weeks without the rest of her girls...

But the simple fact is that Krvavy doesn’t have the heart to purposefully ruin whatever it is that she currently has with Rina. Not to mention that she doesn’t exactly have the opportunity to do so either, on account of her currently heading out of the city...

At least her new trait, Libidinous Lifestyle, isn’t making her inner turmoil even worse...? Not that is helping though. It touches on a separate issue than what is currently eating away at her mind.

Libidinous Lifestyle: Due to your repeated carnal acts, you are now immune to and cannot carry or transmit sexual diseases, whether they be mundane or magical. Additionally, you now gain a bonus of +5% experience from all sources for each individual you have directly performed a sexual act with over the previous 28 days. Bonus experience is increased by an additional +5% for each individual you have directly performed two or more sexual acts with over the previous 7 days.

The trait encourages Krvavy to be a slut and have sex with pretty much everyone she can. Which is a little annoying. Not only does it remove one of the biggest downsides of slutting around, it also gives a very good incentive to do so...

But Krvavy is committing herself to her girls, to her ‘harem’. She doesn’t want to fuck everything that moves, just the girls that she can call her own. The ones she can keep.

Besides, not sleeping with every woman that she sees is almost certainly for the best. The emotional turmoil hanging over Krvavy’s head this morning is proof that she gets attached far too easily and has a hard time separating lust from love.

Her fucked up mind clearly can’t stand just having casual sex. It... she... wants more than that.

The good news is that Libidinous Lifestyle also incentives focusing on just her girls, so she doesn’t need to worry about missing out on extra experience by not fucking random strangers. Sure, the duration for the extra bonus isn’t the longest, but that just gives her even more reason to not neglect Khalia, Thea, Beryl, or Inanna!

Though it also means that the cost of visiting Rina is even higher than it would have been otherwise, as she would lose the extra bonus due to the ‘long’ journey...

The Drakling’s distracted thoughts peter out, silence filling her head for a few merciful seconds. But, luckily, she is spared the return of her worries. Krvavy’s cautious mind picks up on some movement in the corner of her eye. A wave of annoyance washes over her.

Standing in the mouth of an alleyway, off to the side, is a cloaked figure. A familiar cloaked figure, who is beckoning for her to come over with a single gloved hand.

What does Shadow want now...?

The barbarian is tempted to just ignore that other Champion. She really just isn’t in the mood to deal with Shadow, and it would be so easy for her to simply continue on her way. But if she did that then the hooded bastard would probably just send another kid to steal from her...

So, with great reluctance, Krvavy turns and walks straight towards that cloaked figure.

“The fuck do you want?”

“Good morning to you too.” Shadow replies in such an annoyingly neutral tone, stepping deeper into the alleyway and out of sight of those on the road. “Have you enjoyed your time in Raseyn– Wait!” The hooded figure quickly calls out as Krvavy turns to leave. “I have information that you will want to hear.”

“Do you now?” The barbarian skeptically questions, not exactly believing Shadow’s words. If it was any other day she might have been a little curious about what this alleged ‘information’ might be, but right now she doesn’t really care. She just doesn’t want to be pestered if she tries to leave. She knows that it’ll be easier to just listen to whatever Shadow has to say...

“The Duke of Volhynia is planning on sending, or has already sent, an emissary to the Dwarven Hold in the mountains to the south.”

The barbarian idly taps her foot on the ground, impatiently waiting for the hooded figure to get to the point. “And?”

Shadow’s body language is utterly unreadable. Blank and empty. “Heading this delegation will be Patriarch Grigori, the high priest of Perun and the Duke’s most trusted ally. With him will be a small contingent of men, no more than a dozen. They are travelling light.”

“Are just why are you telling me this?” Krvavy grumbles out the question, though she can already guess what the answer will be. Her teeth grind together. She hopes that she is wrong.

“If you wish to get revenge against the Duke, a good first step would be to cut off his right hand.” Shadow plainly states, saying (almost) exactly what Krvavy was, unfortunately, expecting. “And this is the perfect opportunity to do so. Eliminating the Patriarch will also make getting your revenge an easier task, as it would be difficult to kill the Duke while Patriarch Grigori is there to provide support via his lightning magics.”

Krvavy’s expression hardens as she hears those last two words. This Patriarch is the damn lightning wizard who actually killed her, isn’t he? Dammit! She definitely needs to return the favour...! But she isn’t happy that Shadow is the one giving her this information. Her desire for revenge is too strong to ignore though, so with a grumbling noise she gestures for the cloaked figure to continue.

“The route they are to take towards the Dwarven Hold is relatively safe, with few locations suitable for an ambush. There is one spot which may be of use to you though: an old stone bridge with no reason to cross beyond heading towards the mountains. It is unlikely for anyone but this envoy to use the bridge, so you won’t need to worry to hard about having the wrong target.”

The Drakling narrows her eyes at the hooded figure, not bothering to hide her distrust.

There is absolutely no way that she isn’t going to be suspicious of Shadow singling out a specific spot like this. There could very well be a trap waiting for her at that bridge. Is her desire for revenge strong enough to take that risk? She did attend that useless party, which also could have been a trap, and she does still have the threat of burning down this entire city hanging over Shadow... Even if that is mostly just a bluff now...

“To arrive at this bridge is a simple affair: head due east from here until you reach the wide river and then, sticking to this side, follow it south. You will know the bridge when you see it, as it is the only one which crosses the water. At least to the south.” The cloaked figure instructs. “I am sure you know of the river in which I speak, even if you do not know its name.”

“And just when would they be passing over this bridge?” Krvavy impatiently grumbles, growing more and more annoyed by the second. With herself. With Shadow. With her general situation... “I don’t have to sit around waiting for weeks, do I?”

“No.” The hooded figure shakes their hidden head. “They should reach that point in eight or nine days time, with the first of those days being tomorrow.”

Krvavy can’t help but frown a little at that, as she will have to rush home and then immediately head to the bridge if she wants to kill the lightning wizard. Which she does want to do. She should be able to make it with time to spare, but... “How do I know that this isn’t just an elaborate trap? That you aren’t just sending me out to a specific place at a specific time where you don’t need to worry about innocent civilians getting caught in the crossfire?”

“Other than by taking my word, there is no way for you to know that.” Shadow honestly admits, ignoring the increasingly intense glare focused on them. “But I will say that it is in my best interest for you to succeed with this elimination. The Duke will bring conflict to this region, and I do not want him dragging the Dwarves into it, unlikely as that may be, nor do I want his armies to be equipped with Dwarven arms and armour. He will be enough of a challenge to deal with as is.”

While that does make sense, Krvavy is still rather skeptical. After all, Shadow could be straight up lying, simply saying whatever would best convince the barbarian...

“I have something to help you with this endeavour. Here.” The hooded figure reaches into their shadowy cloak, pulling out a dull orb just a bit too big to sit in the palm of their gloved hand. “It is a grenade.” Shadow states after a few seconds of holding it out.

“Are wizards weak to explosions?” Krvavy sarcastically grunts, glaring at the hand holding that grenade

“Perhaps. The Patriarch is growing old and his physical state is deteriorating.” Shadow seems to shrug, though it is a bit difficult to tell beneath their all-encompassing cloak... “But this grenade is no normal explosive. It is designed to disrupt and prevent the use of magic. Or more specifically, it is designed to disrupt the channelling of mana.”

Krvavy’s lips press into a thin line. Her emerald eyes lift up from that bomb, peering into the impenetrable darkness of that hooded cloak. “So I just throw this at ‘the Patriarch’ and suddenly he is no better than an old man? Sounds too good to be true.”

“Indeed.” Shadows hood bobs in a curt nod. “Even with the Patriarch’s advanced age he is more than skilled enough in the magical arts that this will not prevent him from channelling mana. It will significantly hamper him though. His spells will become less potent and require more energy to cast. And doing so would likely bring him pain as well, further hampering his concentration. Thus, this grenade will make dealing with him a much simpler and safer affair.”

The barbarian’s expression grows even darker as she glares at the spherical bomb held in front of her. She would definitely want something like that to help deal with the damned lightning wizard, but she doesn’t really want to take it from this sketchy cloaked figure. That almost feels like letting Shadow win...

“To use this grenade, simply press down here,” a gloved finger carefully taps against a red circle set ever so slightly into the orb’s dull surface. “When you lift your finger it should pop back up, sticking out by about this much. Pulling it free will arm the grenade, causing it to detonate in five seconds’ time or if significant force is dealt to it. I suggest aiming it at a solid surface near your target’s feet.”

Krvavy’s scowled frown twitches as she reluctantly reaches forwards and gently grabs that grenade. She would’ve snatched it out of Shadow’s hand, had it not been a bomb. “If this doesn’t work I’m throwing you under the bus.” She plainly states, her voice as cold and as sharp as ice. “The Duke will know that ‘Shadow’ is actively trying to kill him. And then I will personally make your life difficult in every way I can.” Her lips twist into a snarled sneer. “Now, are we done here? Or are you going to send a kid to steal from me again?”

“That is all.” Shadow very calmly answers. The complete lack of reaction towards any part of that threat only serves to prickle Krvavy’s nerves even further. “Good luck in killing Patriarch Grigori, and remember that he will arrive at the bridge in roughly eight or nine days time.”

Rather than respond, the barbarian simply takes a step back and crouches down, partially removing her backpack so that she can put the grenade into one of its many pouches. With one last glare, Krvavy rises to her feet and steps out of the alleyway.

She has quite the distance to travel in just a few days, so no point in wasting time saying goodbye to someone she doesn’t like.