Disclaimer:
I do not own Guild Wars nor do I claim that I created it. I do however own a copy of the game, and the character Sakamoto Kazuma.
This story takes place after the Factions campaign.
A New Infliction
By: Sakamoto Kazuma
Chapter 1
My name is Sakamoto Kazuma. Roughly translated, it means Book of the hill called Lonely One, and a lonely one I have been these past few years. Went through the Academy by myself, fighting among others. Fought against the charr by myself, and was betrayed multiple times. Quickly I found myself sent to the Crystal Desert to face dragons and to rediscover myself.
I had grown up with the teachings of a monk, and had always thought that that was what I should be. A healer born into a world of death. I guess it sort of makes sense since my primary profession is necromancy, or the study of the dead. Lately, however, Senji has revealed a new path in my life. The fortune teller's tale of deceit of foes as I am to cover their internal vision and steal energy through a new profession known as the mesmer. I cannot change who I am. I will be a necromancer and play with the dead until the day Balthazar claims my soul, but this newfound profession scares me a bit. I must now learn new skills and determine again what is best to use.
Finding a job as a minion master wasn't too hard with the afflicted going around in masses. Those who hired me provided plenty of bodies for my Golems and fiends. Even met a few fellow necromancers who would sacrifice their life to simply provide me with more energy when I needed it, or would die to be resurrected after I had used the necessary parts of their bodies to create what I needed. Regardless to say, I would not be here if it weren't for the sacrifices for some of the men and women I have encountered.
But now that the afflicted have been destroyed, there just never seems to be enough bodies for any minion master to survive on. I have been back to the kurzicks and Luxons asking for jobs, but their peace between each other is still strong, and thus provides me with boredom, and no money. Master Togo has also been stressed with the rebuilding of his homeland, and mutters about the legendary SS in his sleep. When asked about it, he simply smiles and tells me that it is a path that I may choose to take later on in life.
Now, as I sit here on the top of the world in the Shiverpeaks, I wonder what happened to King Adelbern. I can see his castle in the distance, but I know it's been abandoned. I should make it there tomorrow. A group of dolyak masters and ice elementals stand between my goal and myself, but I am certain that the wildlife here is still sufficient for me to raise a small army to get through them. Worst case is that I ride atop my golem and simply run through them.
It is a new morning. It is time to see what the wildlife around this area still has in store for me. I grab my supplies, and my staff. It's a collector's bone staff with a few upgrades of my own. A new staff head and wrapping makes it excellent for any minion master. I'm thinking of dying it black, to match the coldness of my heart, which I have recently realized, but black dye isn't the cheapest of all things around here. Last I saw, it was going for around 9 platinum. When each platinum is worth around a thousand Gold, it makes me wonder if that's really worth it to have a pretty staff.
I start my hike down to the valley. Kind Adelbern's castle sits on top of the mountains on the other side of the valley. Nothing. It's as if nothing lives anymore. I double check my armor, and its runes. Set for death magic and curses. I'm still not sure why that was a good idea, but Master Togo insisted on it. He only mentioned something about a legendary SS skill that I have yet to learn.
I continue on my way, but duck behind a rotting log as something catches my eye. A lone azure shadow. From the greenish glow around it, I recognize it as the fabled Nighh Spinechill. Legend has it that whoever kills it has the chance of becoming the keeper of the underworld. Problem is, these things never travel alone. That and the fact that the legend said it resided in the Talus Chute, not in these unnamed regions. The stories of the riches the underworld contains make me think twice about attacking it. Better to be safe than sorry. A death now would send me back a few days worth of hiking.
I cast awaken the blood, and charge in with my staff at the ready. The shadow jumped three feet in the air out of surprise, and took a blast from my staff. Spinal shivers, vampiric gaze, malaise, one spell after the other on it. It refused to die. Finally a paladin jumped out of nowhere and slammed his hammer on it killing it. "Congratulations. You now own the underworld according to the legend." "What? You're the one who killed it." The paladin sat down on a rock. "Yeah but I'm not a nec. Legend only holds true to necs." "Oh. I didn't know that." I sat down next to him. "So what now? … I don't feel any different." He laughed. "Hell if I know. No one's ever gotten close to slaying that thing. I only killed it because you cast so many hexes on it." "Oh." I look at the body, and remember Master Togo's talk of the SS, and the Legend of the underworld. I look through my inventory at the things I was told to keep with me at all times. A wicked staff for curses, salvage kit, identification kit. Nothing. Then I remember the Signet of Capture. What the hell. I use it on the slain beast. First thing that pops up. Spiteful Spirit. Curse elite spell, and it packed a lot of potential damage. I began to see things pop into place. Spiteful Spirit was SS. SS was a build of a profession other than minion mastery, the use of a disease to render groups of enemies diseased. It was a one man army of curses without the need of bodies. I still didn't understand how this would give me control of the underworld, but I didn't care. It had given my life new hope. Work could be found more easily. Now instead of becoming powerful against mortal bodies, I could now become powerful against spirits.
"Where do you go from here?" The paladin looked up from his sharpening of his swords, glanced at the dead shadow, and replied, "I'm stationed up at the castle. I've nowhere to go while Master Silverwing insists that the weather will clear enough for us to reach Kryta and then his kinfolk. … What about you?" I kicked a rock at me feet. "I don't know. I'm running low on cash, I've only got a few more days of rations left, apparently now I own the Underworld, but I don't even know which way is north now. … I'm not used to traveling alone in the wilderness. Fighting the afflicted in familiar quarters wasn't as confusing as this." The paladin got to his feet and offered me a hand up, which I took, and thanked him. "It seems like you could use a place to stay for a bit. When Master Silverwing reaches his kinfolk, I'll take you the extra few miles to the temple of the ages." I thanked him. I didn't mention the fact that I knew Master Silverwing, and that we had helped each other out countless times before Shiro was banned to the Underworld.
"By the way, my name is Scorpo Billinsky." I shook his hand. "Honor to meet you." "I assure you. The honor is mine." He smiled. I didn't see him smile, for he had his helmet back on at that point, but I could sense the same fluctuations in his spirit that I see whenever anyone smiles. It had become almost second nature in me to be able to predict or see what one could feel. It was almost as if I was psychic, but only to those who worshipped Balthazar, Melandru, or any of the gods that resided in the underworld. It was strange, and I never understood it, but I accepted it and used it to my advantage.