THE MOMENT
"This was so fun!" Vivi chirped. The three girls approached the final room and Vivi enjoyed the run so much that she had to comment. Then, she turned to Outbreak with a broad smile. "I don't know any other necromancers, so I don't think I ever would've gotten to do this quest. Thanks for inviting me!"
"Yes, me too," Tama added. "I would not have guessed the quests for necromancer skills to be so entertaining." Outbreak shrugged as they reached the imposing black iron door. She reached forward and shook her hand free of the long black sleeve of her robe and pushed it open.
"If the skill doesn't drop on the first try... I might ask you two to help me again...," she said.
"No sweat!" Vivi chirped. "I'm off from Doc Mundo's today."
"I would be happy to do it again," Tama added.
The three girls walked into the darkness behind the door and dozens of torches on the walls ignited. It was a spacious, nearly empty room. The ceiling, walls, and floor were made of dark stone and a black coffin sat in the center of the room. As soon as the torches came on, the lid to the coffin swung open.
"Anything we should know about the fight?" Vivi asked.
"OH! Yes!" Outbreak's eyes widened when the memory hit her. "Thanks for asking; the skill only drops if we kill him in the first phase," she said. "But, he changes to his second phase if he takes any damage."
"Then, how do we kill him?" Vivi asked.
"Put him to sleep before we pull him. And I have to get the killing blow."
"Oh, okay," Vivi nodded as a pale hand reached upward out of the coffin and leaned against the edge. Vivi had just enough time to wonder if the hand looked kind of small when a young boy, no older than 10, sat up. He had dark hair and was ghostly pale; he turned towards the girls.
"Do you know where my mommy is?" he asked.
"A child?" Tama asked. Outbreak nodded and shrugged.
"First phase," she said.
"Wait!" Vivi said. "He's a kid." Outbreak looked surprised.
"I thought everyone in the AlterNet was an NPC??" she asked. "I've been killing NPCs, right??" Vivi nodded, and Tama patted her on the shoulder.
"They are, he is. But still. NPC or not, I feel uncomfortable killing a kid."
"What's your favorite number?" Tama suddenly asked the pale boy. He looked at her.
"Do you know where my mommy is?" he asked.
"He's an NPC," Tama nodded.
"We don't have to," Outbreak offered. "If we let him change form he becomes a full adult; we can kill him then, right?"
"But, you won't get your drop...," Vivi said. Outbreak shrugged.
"I'll come back with someone that doesn't mind as much; it's not a big deal," she offered Vivi a smile to show her there no hard feelings. And, she sincerely felt that way. Outbreak was glad to have friends at all that didn't constantly tease her about her name. Turbo introduced her to the multiverse and new friends. She liked her new friends more than she disliked having to do the run again; which wasn't very much.
"I do not mind," Tama raised her hand to let Outbreak know she was willing to come again.
"No... we're already here," Vivi sighed. "But, I have an idea, hold on." Outbreak wondered for a few moments what they were waiting for until she spotted movement on the ground. Dozens of white specks were crawling from Vivi across the dark cobblestones towards the coffin. The mini-swarm crawled onto the coffin, then onto the boy.
"Do you know where my mommy is?" the boy repeated as the spiders began to wrap him in webs.
"This way we don't have to see him when you do it," Vivi said. Outbreak nodded. She heard a soft, string melody fill the air and Tama began to sing long, gentle notes. Rainbow-colored musical notes began forming around her. A notification came to Outbreak's wrist.
[Dreamer's Lullaby; Bard -Tama]
"He'll be asleep in just a moment," Tama said.
"Thanks," Outbreak appreciated the help. She was planning to put him to sleep herself but Tama beat her to it. She realized that they didn't understand her abilities yet and likely didn't know she could put him to sleep. Outbreak only invited Tama to make more friends.
"Do you...," the boy tried asking one more time but his words faded. He was completely encased in webbing now and he fell backward into the coffin.
"I got it from here," Outbreak said. She pulled a dagger out from somewhere in her black robes and approached the coffin. Vivi turned around to face the exit and Tama continued to concentrate on her song.
Outbreak stabbed the dagger into the coffin, then pulled it out.
[Quest Complete!] All three girls got the notification and Vivi sighed an audible release. She turned to see Outbreak walking back towards the group with a grin.
"Got it!" she said. "Vampiric Birthright; I can give my pets a health-draining aura now. THANK YOU!" Vivi smiled but shook her head.
"I'm glad you got it," she said. "But, I'm never doing a necromancer quest again. That wasn't fun at all."
*