Chapter 63
"Wait, what!?" yelled the others in horror.
"Too late, she has to draw the number of cards or they all come out at once," stated Gundarson as the monk drew her first card.
It depicted an explosion. A second later, it shot out of her hand and hovered above her pack, which flew open. She shrieked in protest as the card proceeded to siphon out all the gold in her pack. She tried pulling the card away but somehow it didn't budge. After all her money was gone, it poofed into thin air. After taking a moment to calm down, she drew the second card.
It depicted a hissing medusa. As she continued looking at it, thin beams of light suddenly shot out of its eyes into her own. She shouted in surprise and a few seconds later, in pain as she doubled over the floor. As Lamy ran over to give her a once over, the card vanished too.
After attempting Lesser Restoration and Remove Curse, she sighed and said, "It does not seem like it worked. You still have that pall over you. I think we are in need of more powerful magic to cure you."
"...At least you tried, Lamy," replied the monk, a little disappointed but kind of glad to still be alive, "Ah well, two more cards to go, right?"
The third card depicted a black throne with red seating as well as a golden scepter. The scepter suddenly popped out of the card and knighted her. She blinked as the scepter and the card disappeared.
"Do you feel any different?" asked Botan anxiously.
The monk shook her head and replied, "Not really, though it feels like there are a lot of words in my head. A bit dizzy… and it's gone. Weird. Alright, the fourth card."
It depicted a skull with blood dripping from it as well as a dagger stabbed through the top. A few seconds went by and nothing happened. Then, the card disappeared too.
"Strange. Something was supposed to happen, was it not?" questioned the half-snow elf in surprise.
"Oh, something did happen alright."
The party spun around to find a tall woman dressed in black. Her head was bare save for a transparent veil around the crown of her head, from which long pink tresses flowed from. She wore a black leather dress with a leather cape with spiked shoulders and wielded a black scythe that seemed to pulse with power. She gave each one a look over and then her eyes fell on the deck.
"I see… but that's strange," she stated serenely, "Normally I would be compelled to duel to the death. Yet, I have more control of my actions. What gives?"
"Er, who are you?"
"The name is Calliope Mori, appointed avatar of death… somewhat," she introduced herself, "I am my lord's Reaper on this world." Glancing at the deck on the table, she continued, "I am honestly surprised that I'm not compelled to kill you straight away. What did you do to that Deck?"
"It wasn't us," replied the lore bard, "A master artificer had reduced the power of the Deck using that box."
Looking at the box in the old man's hands, the reaper simply said, "Interesting. Anyway, I still need to fight the one who drew the card… the fox. We shall use first blood rules. Come. Follow me outside. Don't want to trash the house now, do we?"
She then headed to the door and actually phased through it. The shocked party silently followed after the reaper, the monk stepping outside first. The pink-haired lady was waiting for her on the grass.
"Hurry up and get on with it already," grumbled Gundarson, who had hobbled out behind them.
Polka took a long drink as she stepped up to Calliope before getting into her stance. The reaper raised a brow at the odd stance but said nothing. So, she got ready to fight as well. A few seconds later, she took the initiative and charged straight at the monk, swinging her scythe. The fennec fox girl ducked down low, her ears flattening behind her head to avoid being sliced through. Keeping low, she lunged forward to try and land a hit. It never landed as the reaper leaped back and out of the way. Flopping on the ground didn't stop her as she flipped around and jumped to her feet.
The reaper then repeated the charge. As before, Polka ducked under the blade but before she could try anything else, the butt of the scythe was sent towards her head as the reaper spun around with her weapon. She leaned back as far as she could to avoid the blow. Her eyes went wide when the reaper twirled the scythe to make the blade land on her. She flung herself back onto the floor and the blade landed right between her legs.
"Hmm, I missed," muttered Calliope as she pulled the blade out of the ground.
"I thought this was first blood, not instant death!" Polka yelled back in fright. All she got in return was a creepy smile.
Now feeling a little frightened, she found herself moving a lot trying to avoid the twirling scythe. The reaper was surprisingly quite fast and was making short hops around her while making swift swipes with the scythe, trying to take her down. So, she figured that she had to get that scythe out of the reaper's hands to actually win.
"Which means finding a way to get very close to her," she whispered mentally as she tilted her upper body to the side to avoid another attack.
She then waited patiently. A few slashes later, she lurched forward and grabbed the shaft. The reaper pulled her weapon forward but she moved in sync with it, getting closer to the avatar of death. She then pushed herself off her feet and tried grabbing the reaper with her legs. However, Calliope swung her around by the shaft and tried grabbing her face unexpectedly. Holding on to the shaft with one hand, she grinned as she parried away the incoming hand and immediately tried to land a punch. The reaper let go and leaped back to avoid the punch.
Polka grinned as her idea worked. Yet, she noticed the reaper didn't seem too bothered by it. Brushing it off, she dropped the scythe behind her as she didn't know how to use it in a fight. As long as she could keep the weapon away from the reaper, she should have an easier time landing the first blow.
"Impressive," stated Calliope, "But that won't help you."
"Your weapon is here, so what are you gonna do," replied the fennec monk with a smirk.
The reaper simply said nothing, but instead, she motioned to come at her. The monk snorted and took another drink. Then, she lurched forward and hopped over on the offensive. Her opponent suddenly pulled her cape off and flung it at her. Taken by surprise, the cape landed on her head and blocked her vision. She flailed around helplessly, trying to get the cape off as fast as she could. Suddenly, she felt something slam into her back and lift her off her feet. Then, it slammed into her stomach, almost making her throw up. The cycle repeated several times and eventually, the last blow slammed her down to the ground. What was shocking was that she felt herself falling before crashing.
She laid there, breathing heavily and body wracked with pain. Gingerly, she got up and threw the cape off at the same time. Then, there was a flash of light and she felt something dripping down her cheek. She turned to her side very, very, slowly. A curved blade was sticking out of the reaper's forearm. Looking over to the scythe, she noticed that the blade was missing. Finally, she touched the liquid on her cheek. It was blood.
Calliope smiled and said, "First blood is mine."
The party was pretty much awestruck by the fight and its conclusion.
"...I did not expect this," muttered Lamy as the reaper ruffled the monk's hair before straightening up.
She threw her cape over her shoulders as she walked away a few feet. She then hummed as she turned around and stretched out her hand, her scythe floating up and zooming straight for it. It mysteriously regained its blade. She twirled it around a moment before hefting it over her shoulder.
"Cool..." murmured Botan in awe, "I wonder how many trophies she has..."
"Hey, Miss Calliope? Do you get summoned often?" asked Nene aloud.
"Can you even summon a reaper?" questioned Aloe in disbelief.
"That card did," pointed out the cleric.
"...True," grumbled Aloe after some thought.
"You should be amazed by whoever made that box," stated the reaper as the monk finally shook herself out of her surprise and rejoined her friends, "To be able to alter the cards in that manner, they must be a very talented person. A genius even."
"Ah, Pekora would have been proud of her teacher then," said the lore bard, "And yeah, he passed away."
"Pah, he wouldn't have cared much about that anyway," interjected old man Gundarson, "If anything, he would have said thank you and went on to his next project." He then looked over the reaper and said, "Hope you took care of him when you sent him wherever it is you sent him."
"Where he goes, is all on him," she replied and deigned to elaborate.
"Hah," he sounded before turning over to the party, "Well, you pulled out the cards. I'll leave you lot alone. But you better hurry up. Make it snappy."
"Wait a minute, I pulled more than that," asked the fennec fox girl with a grin, "I even fought Miss Calliope here. Do I get any extra?"
"You did all that all by yourself," he retorted, "I had nothing to do with that. And I said 'at least one', not 'just one'. Don't put your dumb actions on me."
"That's going beyond all expectations," she fired back, "Why shouldn't you reward that?"
"You want a reward? Ask Miss Reaper here!" he shouted back as he headed back inside, "Now get off my lawn." Before she could say anything else, he went in and slammed the door shut.
"Well, that was a thing," commented Calliope with a smirk, which fell away when she noticed a hopeful monk staring at her, "Seriously?" Getting several eager nods, she sighed and muttered, "Well, this is a first. Hmm, ah… how about 'no'."
"Aw..."
"Anyway, ta ta, mortals. It's been nice meeting you. Memento mori," she said with a calm smile before suddenly disappearing into thin air.
"Hng… What am I going to do now? All my gold is gone..." Polka whined.
"Don't worry, we can always try and get more," Nene tried to assure her.
After gathering their stuff, they made their way back to the ship to deliver the good news. Captain Bhas looked quite relieved when they told him and agreed that they should try and make their repairs as fast as possible. They worked through the night while taking shifts. By the next day, they had a roughly-repaired wooden mast hammered together in place. Coco had transformed and helped hold the mast up while they repaired it that morning. They did their best and while the mast looked a little dubious, it was in a workable condition.
That afternoon, they set sail once more. With Coco now free, she spent time chatting with the others. Much to their surprise and Nene's delight, the dragon had also helped Subaru in defending the capital against the black dragon. The next several days were spent listening to tales of the dragon slayer's team running around the city looking for clues that she dug up. In the middle of that, the captain informed everyone that land had been sighted and by following the coast, they should be able to reach Huan Tuo in no time. A long wave of relief could be felt throughout the whole ship at the news.
"Wow, can't believe she felt that way," muttered the lore bard after hearing of the fall of the black dragon.
"Well, you have to put yourself in her shoes," reasoned the copper dragon, "In the face of a dragon, anything smaller would be terrified to go against it. She was unable to get over that, even if she contributed in other ways. If it wasn't for her, that young necromancer wouldn't have gotten her boost in power and they wouldn't have been able to kill off that stupid lizard."
Botan snorted at the jab to the evil dragon. Then, Aberoft said, "That was an amazing tale, Miss Coco."
"No problem," she replied with a grin.
"Huan Tuo sighted!" called out a sailor.
"Yosh, we're here!" cheered Polka as she somersaulted backward off the bench, "Let's go see!"
The party, the dragon, and the paladin made their way topside eagerly. The port city was a welcome sight after all that time on the ship. The vessel pulled into the harbor and docked at the wooden pier. With an order, the gangplank was laid out for ease of movement and the sailors started unloading the merchant's goods while the captain went to see the harbormaster.
"Well, I guess that's it," stated Coco with a satisfied look, "I got my reward already and I'm ready to get to Rivirapolis."
"Oh, you're going through that wizard's shop?" asked Nene in surprise, "We're thinking of going through there too."
Another surprise came in the form of Hanar, who tapped her shoulder and motioned her to follow. As the lore bard and the jeweler went to the side, the jeweler grabbed her hand and placed a ring in it.
"Eh?"
"A reward for helping," she said curtly, "I can't stand to stay any longer on this ship, so I'm taking this chance to pass this on. Thank you. Now, I'll be off."
The shocked girl looked at the ring as the jeweler walked away, wondering what exactly just happened. She went back to the party, noticing that Lamy's shield had started glowing a little.
"What did Hanar want?" asked Lamy.
"She gave me this," she replied, showing the ring, "I think it's magical as your shield is glowing."
"Ooh, I can help identify that if you want," offered Aloe.
"Sure, maybe when we reach that wizard's shop," agreed Nene.
"Let's make our way there," declared Aberoft, "It is time to move on to a new adventure!"
The party giggled but agreed with his sentiment. Making their way down the gangplank and up the pier, they went past the market and headed straight for the shop. Surprisingly, there were people waiting outside the shop itself, including a familiar face.
"Halt, what business do you have here?" asked Haato in her red uniform.
"We are seeking magical services of identification and teleportation," stated the half-snow elf.
"There will be no teleportation out of the city," she informed them, "A murder happened a few rows over. We are working with the guards to stop all outgoing travel until it is resolved. Unless you are a confirmed merchant, you are not leaving."
"But we are with the adventurer's guild. That helps, right?" pointed out Polka.
"Even so, you aren't a merchant. So, no."
"Can we at least identify their ring?" asked the dragon.
"Can I offer help with the investigation?" asked the paladin at the same time.
"Yes, you can. I'll observe," she stated before leaning over to whisper some orders. She then continued, "If you want to help, follow him to the guards."
After promising to meet up with him again, he split off with them. Haato allowed them to enter the shop and followed them in herself. As Aloe got things ready for the ring, the mercenary girl pulled out something thing and black from her pouch, tossing it into her mouth. It crunched very audibly.
"Hmm, what are you eating?" asked an intrigued fennec fox girl, "Can I try one?"
"Oh, spider legs," she replied as she offered one to the monk.
"Er… no thanks..."
So, the mercenary girl continued munching on her troubling snacks while the succubus identified the ring. It was a simple silver band with a clear stone attached to it. Although, the stone itself seemed to scintillate under light at angles.
"Ahem, so the ring itself is enchanted to help fight against charming magic," she stated after performing the ritual, "The gem though, seems to be fey-touched, I think. I can't get a good read on this except for a chaotic and magical feeling."
"Huh, strange," muttered Botan, "Though, maybe Nene can have it?"
"Well, one of us can make use of it," agreed the cleric.
"Hmm, I think you can keep it for now, Lamy," decided the lore bard, "Unless something else happens later on."
"Right, now that you've done your business here, please leave the premises," Haato requested politely.
With great reluctance, they left the shop.
"Should we help the guards?" asked Lamy, "Maybe we can speed things up."
"Or we could make things too confusing. Let the guards and Aberoft handle this," said Aloe.
"...We'll give it a day or two," decided Nene after some thought, "Then, we can ask Aberoft if they need help."
AN: Greetings, readers. Welcome back.
Let's get right into it. Polka drew four cards, right? They are as follows.
Ruin card.
Pre-Nerf- All forms of wealth that you carry or own, other than magic items, are lost to you. Portable property vanishes. Businesses, buildings, and land you own are lost in a way that alters reality the least. Any documentation that proves you should own something lost to this card also disappears.
Post-Nerf- Just the money is lost as well as half of your property's value.
As Polka doesn't own any property, she only lost all the gold she amassed so far.
Euryale card.
Pre-Nerf- The card's medusa-like visage curses you. You take a −2 penalty on saving throws while cursed in this way. Only a god or the magic of The Fates card can end this curse.
Post-Nerf- Becomes a -1 penalty. It can also additionally be removed with the wish spell.
Throne card.
Pre-Nerf- You gain proficiency in the Persuasion skill, and you double your proficiency bonus on checks made with that skill. In addition, you gain rightful ownership of a small keep somewhere in the world. However, the keep is currently in the hands of monsters, which you must clear out before you can claim the keep as yours.
Post Nerf- You still gain proficiency in Persuasion but you only double the proficiency bonus checks if you already have proficiency. You also optionally gain control of a large, run-down mansion in a named city.
For story purposes, Polka will not be getting any mansion. But now that I think about it, maybe she can gain ownership of some building somewhere in the city that she could rent out? She did lose all her gold, after all. But, these kinds of things need some thought, so, maybe I'll get back to that later.
Skull card.
Pre-Nerf- You summon an avatar of death-a ghostly humanoid skeleton clad in a tattered black robe and carrying a spectral scythe. It appears in a space of the GM's choice within 10 feet of you and attacks you, warning all others that you must win the battle alone. The avatar fights until you die or it drops to 0 hit points, whereupon it disappears. If anyone tries to help you, the helper summons its own avatar of death. A creature slain by an avatar of death can't be restored to life.
Post-Nerf- You fight a weaker version of an avatar of death. The avatar will have more leeway in determining the rules of engagement. If anyone tries to help you, the helper still summons its own avatar of death.
However, as you can see, we already have an avatar of death already available in Hololive. Yes, Polka is going to spar with Calliope.
Now, knowing that she has played fighting games before, I have decided to base her fighting styles on two characters from the Guilty Gear series. Using her scythe, she will be fighting like Testament, the scythe-wielding Gear. On the other hand, should she lose hold of her scythe, instead of summoning it back to her, she can create a portal on her forearm that summons the scythe's blade. Taking off her cloak lets her become more mobile and lets her wield her blade just as efficiently as she handles her scythe. Thus, her fighting style becomes more like Chipp Zanuff.
Thus, Calli wins first blood. Thus, with the completion of the drawing of cards, the crew is allowed to make repairs on the ship. The journey back was swift with the repaired boat. They even got an extra reward from Hanar the jeweler. However, it seems a murder has happened and they meet another familiar face. Haato directed the paladin to the guards and then followed the rest into the shop. To be clear, it was not open for business, but she is a familiar face in the city, so the wizard owner let them in. And here, more hints of a Haachama influence in play as she offered spider legs to Polka. The ring is identified to be an anti-charm ring with ties to the fey-wild. Psst, it has something to do with wild magic. Don't tell them that, okay?
Next chapter, the party will return to Rivirapolis. Just... give me some time to write it up, yeah? Thank you for reading and have a good day, dear readers.