Speedrunner 1.1

Hello, Diane. 

Happy to be back, I suppose. 

No, no, no. I'd assure your viewers: there's no bad blood, not from my perspective. It's obvious we have some disagreements, but I certainly appreciated the spirited back-and-forth. I just wish you brought the same enthusiasm for rigorous conversation to some of your interviews with executives at other companies, haha.

Come on, let's not rehash our last conversation. Let's talk about something else instead. Who're you talking with at the end of level one? I know you're on our media list for player interviews.

Ah. Well well. A conversation with Chloe will indeed be interesting.

Oh, I like all our players. Like I said last time, these are cosmonauts, modern-day explorers. They're charting a course through unknown waters. And there are so many interesting storylines to follow, aren't there?

But, yes, I have to admit that Chloe is one of my favorites right now. You've seen her early footage, yes? A remarkable young person with a lot of competitive drive, and clear aptitude for games; she's taken to the system's mechanics like a fish to water.

Of course, the mechanics of the game are only part of the equation; interpersonal interactions are what will really let the players win, in my opinion.

...No, 'interpersonal interactions' was not a euphemism. Oh, I see. You think the game's about sex. Do you honestly believe we've poured all this capital, computing power, marketing, and effort in...just to create a porno?

Well, I suppose we're up for some respectful debate once again, then, aren't we, Diane? Yes, of course the game has sex in it. Life has sex in it. But just like life, to say it's only about that is far too reductive. The game is about relationships. Yes, some of these relationships are sexual in nature. But I hardly think that's the defining trait of the competition. You're being reductive.

That's your response? Are you kidding me? Seriously?

Okay, yes, you're right, life doesn't have extremely well-endowed goblins in it. My, what a powerful rebuttal.

Let me try a different tack. Look. Diane. I feel like you're really hung up on the wrong things here.

Yes -- yes. Not to cut you off, but I see where you're going. I'm sure some people are indeed masturbating to the footage, but that doesn't change my point.

Sex is a part of the game. I acknowledge that. I am sure some people are finding it titillating, that it's improving our viewer and subscription numbers. We -- deliberately, I might add -- did not stipulate that Prometheus create G-rated entertainment when we had it make the show, so of course we anticipated that this was a possibility.

But I think it's set up all the ingredients to an interesting story. Since you're talking to Chloe anyway, let's take her as a case study, shall we? Consider her relationship with Becky.

They haven't had sex, have they? They haven't even touched each other that I can recall -- though they've certainly watched each other during encounters.

Yes. Diane, I'm aware of the 'viewer-generated content' that's cropping up of her and Becky. Some of it is extremely creative. A testament to how invested our fans have gotten in the story already.

Anyway, here's my point: the story of Chloe and Becky isn't about sex; if it were, viewers wouldn't have to create that content.

Here's what's more interesting question, in my opinion: can the two of them work together, or not?

Becky can be a little airheaded, obviously; she'd benefit from listening more to Chloe. Chloe is goal-oriented, impatient; she risks alienating Becky. Their stats and abilities complement each other almost perfectly, but their personalities don't. There's a fair bit of friction.

Can they overcome it? What do you think?

---

I flipped back and forth between the two available choices, the glowing text rewriting itself in my vision as I thought about first one, then the other.

SELECT A NEW OR UPGRADED DOMINANCE PERK FROM THESE TWO OPTIONS:

Charismatic Chatter [D]
You've got one of those voices people really love to listen to. For days at a time, even.
Add +2 to your Verbal.

Good With Your Hands -> Great With Your Hands [C][UPGRADED]
Whether you've spent too much time playing bullet-hell shooters or giving handjobs, all that experience is starting to add up. Not only are you great with your hands, but people remember what those hands can do.
Add +2 to your Performance. Additionally, when you use your hands to finish a participant, the other participants in an encounter permanently lose one point of Dominance.

SELECT A NEW SATISFACTION PERK FROM THESE TWO OPTIONS:

Girl Next Door [D]
You've got the kind of approachable good looks that people love.
Add +1 to your Appearance.

ASMR Dabbler [D]
Don't think we didn't notice that you've dipped your toe in ASMR streaming when we were reviewing your streaming history, Chloe. You've got a nice throaty whisper, don't you?
Add +1 to your Verbal.

It was pretty remarkable how intuitive the system's menus had become, I reflected. It felt so natural now to have the words in front of me shifting to follow my thoughts.

Enough procrastinating, though.

I picked Girl Next Door first; that at least felt like an easy choice. Maybe I was just that I was feeling a little jealous of Becky's near-perfect appearance. Maybe I realized that the biggest multiplier to my Sexual Prowess was going to be increasing my worst stat, which was still Appearance; going from 1 to 2 would double it.

Or maybe I just was curious what additional effect it would offer when I reached 10 Satisfaction.

So I selected Girl Next Door.

The other choice was more difficult. But ultimately, I decided that Great With Your Hands -- with its additional effect -- beat out the value of raw stats. Being able to reduce Dominance felt like a unique effect.

I'd just have to be careful about how I used my hands so that my friends kept what little Dominance they had.

After I selected Great With Your Hands, I pulled up my stats to look at them.

STATISTICS
Appearance: 2
Verbal: 3 (+1)
Performance: 3 (+2)
Sexual Prowess: 18

My stats were turning out pretty well-rounded, and it was helping to increase my Sexual Prowess substantially...which was now glowing, I realized. I could select another upgrade because it had increased.

"All done?" Becky asked, cheerfully. The armor on her lower body was a short little skirt made of leather and plates of metal; she was inspecting the way it draped over her thighs.

"No, actually. That bumped up my stats, so I've got another choice to make now. Let me..."

I paused midsentence.

The ground had started shuddering, I realized. Not aggressively -- it had been hard to notice at first -- but it was growing steadily louder by the moment.

"Um, what's that?" Becky had become aware of it, too.

There was only one thought in my head: war troll. I hoped I was wrong.

"We should go check," I said, reluctantly. The upgrade would have to wait; I didn't want to get trapped in here or taken by surprise.

---

We peered out from the doorway of the ruined shop, the goblins inside still mumbling and snoring in their torpor.

The war troll was perhaps one or two blocks away.

It was a little hard to judge because of how fucking enormous it was.

I'd seen creatures like elephants and giraffes at the zoo; even gone whale-watching with my parents, once, when I was younger.

That was probably what this had the most in common with: a humpback whale. It had the same profound sense of mass to it, a lumbering heaviness. It was built like one of the goblins we'd seen, just on a much larger scale: squat, thickly muscled, with mottled green skin, beady eyes the size of grapefruits that gave the impression of both malice and stupidity. A sloping forehead, protruding jaw.

The thing was probably twenty feet tall and nearly as wide. It held a club in one hand that might actually just be a tree trunk; I couldn't quite tell at this distance.

A crude leather toga was draped across its body.

I pulled up its description.

NAME: Boneshatter

ARCHETYPE: WAR TROLL [AI] [MONSTER] [HOSTILE]

CAUTION! This is a significant threat! This enemy would trivially best most participants with your Prowess and Score.

More force of nature than a creature, war trolls know pleasure only through violence and destruction. Goaded into a rage by goblin magic and then pointed in the right direction, they are unstoppable killing machines. Weaknesses? Bad news: they don't really have any. Their hides are thick. They don't regenerate the way trolls of myth do, but they're not vulnerable to acid or fire either. Maybe a well placed cut with something really sharp? But good luck getting that close safely.

As we watched, it smashed that huge club it was holding into one of the buildings next to it. The movement was bored, unhurried -- the way I might absentmindedly break a twig off a tree that was encroaching a little too much on a path I was walking down.

Splintering wood and a crash sounded. The building partially caved in.

"I, uh, don't think we can handle this thing the way we took care of those goblins." It was Becky, intimidated.

"Definitely not," I agreed. If everything was anatomically proportional, the war troll had to be packing something between a fire hydrant and the tree trunk it was holding. "And I don't want to let it get between us and the castle. C'mon, let's go."

For once in full agreement, we hustled in the opposite direction.

---

It didn't gain on us, but it didn't fall behind either.

As we got closer to the castle, it became clear that everyone was headed this way, perhaps seeing it as the only opportunity for safety.

We must've begun to outpace the attacking goblins; perhaps they didn't venture too far ahead of the troll lumbering along behind us, or perhaps we'd just killed or incapacitated enough to have cleared a path.

It meant that instead of only us moving down the block, there was a steady stream of people, all thronging in the same direction, growing by the moment. As we tried to push our way past and through the increasingly crowded street, I pulled up their descriptions.

NAME: Alvin

ARCHETYPE: BAKER [AI] [CIVILIAN] [FRIENDLY]

BORING! Getting the best of this NPC would be trivial for someone of your Prowess and Score. Doing so won't even start an encounter.

One of many innocent civilians in the level, Alvin is the town's third-best baker. He makes a passable rustic loaf, a mediocre focaccia, and a truly unfortunate apple tart. He's currently fleeing for his life after the war troll smashed into his bakery and consumed an entire day's work in about two minutes.

The game threw up endless variations on that story -- the town's butcher, a bartender, a clothier. The list went on and on.

I did wonder about the warning on the war troll, and the 'boring' notification on the NPCs around me. I could imagine how easily I'd be able to slaughter these civilians; did it mean that I really stood no chance against the war troll?

And then the stream of people around us became a standing mass of people, no longer moving. Standing on my tiptoes to see through the crowd, I realized that there was a wall and barred gate of some kind across the street ahead, manned by armed guards.

It wasn't the castle wall or gates; I could still see those ahead in the distance, though much closer than they had been. It must be some kind of defensive perimeter around the castle and its outlying structures.

I glanced behind us. The war troll was getting closer. We didn't have time for this shit.

And then, as I looked over my shoulder, I felt a surge of relief as I caught a glimpse of a familiar-looking bald head through the crowd. I pulled up the description to confirm.

NAME: Ted

ARCHETYPE: TED FROM ACCOUNTING
This is Ted. You know, from Accounting. It's kind of his entire personality. Which is kind of sad. But he's good with money and numbers. Can he win a competition that's mostly about being good with people? I doubt it, but you never know, do you?

ORIGIN: POTIONS MERCHANT
Potions are a booming business, because everyone needs one. Need to sleep better? There's a potion for that. Need to run faster? There's a potion for that. Need to set something on fire? There's a potion for that. Having trouble getting hard because you're getting a bit on in years, and the missus is starting to complain? There's definitely a potion for that.

"Ted!" I shouted at him over the crowd.

He whirled towards us. "Chloe?"

I could hear the relief in his own voice.

The three of us pulled off to one side and had a hurried reunion.

Ted's eyes lingered on Becky's attire, her cleavage, although I saw him giving my confident swagger and changed, more athletic appearance more than a glance, too.

For his part, Ted was wearing some rather nice-looking robes, with a belt that had all kinds of pouches and little vials all over it. His Appearance stat had cleared improved: he looked good. Really good. He had a kind of easygoing, friendly confidence about him that I didn't remember.

I broke into a grin. "A potions merchant?"

He gave me a winning smile. "Well, it was that or Portly Nobleman. The nobleman choice was interesting, but..." he shrugged. "This one seemed like more of a support role. Which is what I think I am. Connection doesn't seem to do much else, stat-wise. So I'm glad I found you guys!"

I nodded; that mirrored my own conclusions about the various stats.

And the way I felt about finding him.

Worriedly watching the progress of the approaching war troll, we quickly compared character sheets. I gave him an abbreviated version of Becky's new stats and gear, and got him to share his full character sheet with me quickly.

NAME: Ted

ARCHETYPE: TED FROM ACCOUNTING
This is Ted. You know, from Accounting. It's kind of his entire personality. Which is kind of sad. But he's good with money and numbers. Can he win a competition that's mostly about being good with people? I doubt it, but you never know, do you?

ORIGIN: POTIONS MERCHANT
Potions are a booming business, because everyone needs one. Need to sleep better? There's a potion for that. Need to run faster? There's a potion for that. Need to set something on fire? There's a potion for that. Having trouble getting hard because you're getting a bit on in years, and the missus is starting to complain? There's definitely a potion for that.

STATISTICS
Appearance: 3 (+5)
Verbal: 1 (+1)
Performance: 1
Sexual Prowess: 3

EXPERIENCE
Dominance: 2
Satisfaction: 3
Connection: 5
Overall Score: 30

TALENTS AND PERKS

Bull Market [C][BASE] (This is Ted's starting perk.)
At the end of each level, double your currency totals. Easy to make a killing in a bull market, isn't it?

Looks Money Status [C][BASE] (This is Ted's starting perk.)
Some people believe that wealth, for men, is what beauty is for women. Reality is probably a little more complicated than that, huh? But let's run with it. Add your total Major Favors currency to your Appearance stat.
(Currently, this perk gives you +3 Appearance.)

Breadwinner [C][BASE] (This is Ted's starting perk.)
Everyone wants a man who's a good provider. Encounters with allies who have less total currency than you will reward participants with one additional point of Connection.

Supportive Partner [D] (This is Ted's talent)
Once per level, add your Connection to a single party-member's Satisfaction or Dominance score (you choose) until the end of the encounter.
(Currently, this talent adds +5 to a party member's Satisfaction or Dominance.)

CURRENCIES

Minor Favors: 25
Major Favors: 3

GEAR

Mercantile Robes [GEAR][ATTIRE]
These robes offer little in the way of protection. But they mark you as a merchant. And hey, there's loose change in the pockets!
You gain +1 Appearance. You also permanently gain three Minor Favors, and one Major Favor from acquiring these robes.

Potions Belt [GEAR]
A random assortment of your wares is belted around your waist.
In any encounter, you may draw potions until your Connection is exhausted. For one point of Connection, you may choose to pull out a random potion from your belt. For three potions of Connection, you may select a potion with intention.

Goblinette Statuette [1]
A trinket given to you by a goblin priestess. It looks like a busty little goblin.
While you have this equipped, you can speak the goblin tongue fluently, and goblins will treat you as if your Appearance were two points higher.

"God damn, Ted. Eight Appearance? No wonder you look so good." I was finding it difficult to take my eyes off him.

"Hey, thanks. I wish it wasn't all just modifiers to my Appearance; my base is still pretty low. But I'm not complaining." He adjusted his robes.

"Where'd you get the statuette?"

"Uh..." He blushed. "A goblin priestess gave it to me, in exchange for, um..."

"When did-"

But I cut off. There was screaming behind us.

The war troll had arrived on our block, and the dire nature of the situation had become clear to the milling crowd of civilians.

The guards weren't letting them in; a few people were pounding with futility on the barred gate.

And now the war troll was blocking the only obvious route of escape. Its malevolent eyes played over the crowd, and it roared. The roar was loud, ear-splitting and bowel-shaking even at this distance.

The crowd suddenly broke into chaos.

People screamed louder, breaking every which way. Some went for the buildings; some went for the barred gate.

Nobody went towards the troll, which started, inexorably, down the street towards us.

"Um, guys? Let's catch up later," Becky said.

"Yeah. What's the plan?" Ted's voice was strained.

They both looked at me.

I wasn't sure who had elected me leader, but I decided the only options were obvious. "We try to convince the guards to let us in. If they won't, we fight; maybe the three of us have a small chance of winning. But the crowd ought to buy us a little time to prepare."

They both nodded.

I shoved my way forward through the crowd. It was easier than I expected; the civilian nature of the NPCs -- not to mention the 'boring' warning they all seemed to carry -- appeared to work in my favor. Even men larger than me seemed cowed as I pushed past them. In moments, we stood before the gates, the guards on the other side only feet away, eyeing us uncertainly.

The wall was built from sturdy blocks of stone and looked thick. The gate was a massive grate of metal, bars almost as thick as my wrist. It might hold the war troll back, I supposed.

There was a crashing sound; the shouts and screams from behind me intensified.

Or it might not. I wouldn't have wanted to bet on it.

"Um, hello! No one without an invitation to the King's Ball gets into the Inner City today; king's orders!" The guard immediately closest to us was a young man, perhaps in his early twenties; his voice was shaky. His gaze alternated between Becky's chest and the war troll behind us.

I pulled up his description.

NAME: Jim

ARCHETYPE: GUARD [AI] [NEUTRAL]

BORING! Getting the best of this NPC would be trivial for someone of your Prowess and Score. Doing so won't even start an encounter.

Jim is a nondescript guard. He can probably beat a goblin in a one-on-one fight. Probably.

"...But that troll is going to kill all these people," Becky protested. "Why don't you just let us all in?"

Jim appeared to hesitate. His gaze wandered over Becky's body. "Um, sorry, ma'am, I-I really want to help you, b-but-"

"But it's the King's orders!" A firmer, more mature voice from behind that guard. "And we've got to follow them. Nobody inside the Inner City today without an invitation to the King's Ball."

NAME: Max

ARCHETYPE: GUARD CAPTAIN [AI] [NEUTRAL]

Max is modestly more competent, and has better judgment than your average guardsman. That's why he's in charge. Less bribable, less susceptible to seduction, and much more zealous in following the rules. You can tell he's going to be a problem.

I sighed. Obviously, none of us had invitations. "Look, Max. If we kill the troll, will you let us in?"

Max laughed. "You're insane, lady. That thing'll paste you across the street like you're a bug."

"But if we do-"

"Sure, lady. If you do, I'll open the door and let you in myself."

I glanced at the metal gate. Sturdy.

I glanced at the wall. Climbable. Maybe...

Max was watching me. Conversationally, he said, "The goblins are pretty good climbers, you know. So of the boys are up there on top of the walls with heavy rocks to drop. Just in case anyone tries to climb up it."

I sighed again, resigned, and turned around.

The crowd between us and the troll had thinned considerably.

"You're going to owe us one, Max," I grumbled.

Then I looked at Becky and Ted. "Let's try to kill a war troll. Here's the plan."

---

ENCOUNTER STARTED.

The troll was approaching us, looking slightly confused by the fact that we weren't running away or screaming like everyone else was. I slid my sword out.

"Okay. Um...lube me up, I guess, Becky?"

Reluctantly, Becky pulled out one of her items.

Sampler: Personal Lubricant [GEAR][CONSUMABLE: 1]
More like lubri-can! Literally grease the wheels (or other parts) of an encounter!
+1 Performance during an encounter when it's used.

Becky hesitated, and then just kind of slathered some on my bare arms and shoulders. I wasn't sure what to expect. But it just felt kind of nice -- lightly mosturizing, cool to the touch -- and I did feel more graceful and limber. I checked my stats; my Performance had gone from 3(+2) to 3(+3).

Ted started pulling out potions and handing them to me. Ted's Connection of five gave him three pulls from his belt: one that we'd agreed he should do with intention, and two random potions.

Potion of Performance [GEAR][CONSUMABLE:1][EPHEMERAL]
This silvery liquid makes you perform better. At what, you might ask? Everything. Anything.
Grants a +2 to Performance until the end of the encounter. This potion will become inert if not used before the end of the encounter.

That had been his pull with intention and Prometheus seemed to understand what we were intending to do. I drank it immediately; the liquid made my tongue tingle. I felt even more graceful.

"Hey, good potion!" Ted handed me the next one.

Potion of Dominance [GEAR][CONSUMABLE:1][EMPHEMERAL]
A red cloudy liquid that tastes the same way being in charge feels: powerful.
Grants a +2 to Dominance until the end of the encounter. This potion will become inert if not used before the end of the encounter.

I chugged that too. The description was right; it tasted powerful, and mad me feel powerful. Maybe we could do this; my Performance was now effectively 8, and my Dominance was a whopping 12.

He handed me the third potion.

Explosive Brew [GEAR][CONSUMABLE:1][EPHEMERAL]
An unstable concoction; it explodes when the vial is broken .
Inflicts damage based on the alchemist's Connection statistic. This potion will become inert if not used before the end of the encounter.

"Huh..." I carefully handed it back to him. "Gonna let you find a good moment to use this."

"The rest are all, like, useless," he grumbled, pulling one out after another. There seemed to be no limit to them. "This one removes nose-hairs. This other one gives you more nose hair. This one makes your skin appear slightly more purple...this one is a sweet sauce suitable for chicken or fish..."

Ted lapsed into silence as the troll roared at us. It was loud enough at this distance that it hurt my ears.

"Becky gets your Supportive Partner boost," I said, hurriedly. I stepped forward; the last thing I wanted was to be trapped near the wall. I needed lots of room to dodge and maneuver.

"Are you sure? I can only use it once this level..."

The troll's beady eyes were locked on the sword in my hand.

"Yes, I'm fucking sure," I snapped, hurriedly. I was fighting the impulse to have him use it on me. I knew we'd need Becky to be able to take a hit from that thing; she'd need all the Satisfaction she could get.

"Becky, just try to keep its attention, like we talked about." I tried to keep my voice steady. "You've got good stats for getting hit by it."

"R-right..." Becky looked utterly terrified. She was enveloped in a brief glowing blue aura as Ted glanced her way.

"You guys got this," Ted encouraged. "I'll be ready to throw that explosive potion at a good moment."

I had to admit, whether it was the stat boosts, Ted's Connection score, or just having the three of us all here, I felt more confident than I expected as I squared up against the troll.

And then the troll lumbered at me, and we began what turned out to be a complicated, deadly dance.

It was lumbering, and slow, but it had a massive reach advantage. I tried to dart in for a slice at its body, but was forced to immediately back away it swung -- I just couldn't close the distance fast enough.

And I could feel the sheer weight of that club as it slammed into the pavement next to me, spraying chunks of cobblestones. I deftly dodged to one side and flicked my blade along its arm, drawing a thin line of green blood. It shouted in rage -- but didn't drop the club -- and slammed its other fist down atop me.

Like Max had said, it would've been more than enough to paste me across the street if I'd still been there.

But I wasn't. I moved quickly, rolling back out of reach, and landed another modest wound on that arm before it pulled it back.

I spared a quick glance over my shoulder. Becky was standing, frozen, a few yards behind me. "Come on, distract it, I need help," I yelled at her, before ducking a swing that passed over my head so close that I could feel it brush my hair.

She mumbled something in reply, but I couldn't hear it. The troll roared again, drowning her out. And I didn't have time to look at her.

The dance continued. I pirouetted around another swing. I vaulted over the troll's arm, jabbed in the abdomen -- although the force was blunted by its leather toga. It snarled at me, but I was already gone again, pulling outside its reach.

I wasn't doing badly, I knew. But I could tell that I was only inflicting modest wounds. Too much of my time was being taken up making sure I didn't take a swing -- because I was pretty confident that even one would leave me dead.

"C'mon, Becky, get in here," I called back to her again. This time, I couldn't look her way -- the troll, while stupid, had a kind of animal cunning in its gaze, and I could see it gauging each of my dodges more carefully now, like someone trying to swat an especially annoying fly.

As a result, the next time I tried to vault over its arm, its other arm was there, swinging for me, and I had to abruptly and awkwardly change direction, crashing into the ground. It didn't hurt me badly, but it was obviously figuring out how to deal with me. It broke into a huge grin, revealing a toothy maw, yellowed incisors like knives.

Its breath was terrible.

I dodged its next swing, but it turned out to be a feint. The troll's other arm shot out, faster than I had expected and inexorable. It wrapped one meaty paw around my entire forearm and dragged, throwing me to the ground, hard enough to disoriented me for a moment.

It raised that tree-trunk of a club up high and brought it crashing down.

Ah, shit.

I had a split second in which I knew, with certainty, that I was about to get eliminated from the competition. Pasted like a bug, the way Max had said. Going after the troll had been stupid. Prometheus had even warned me it was stupid.

I wondered if it would hurt when the troll clubbed me. I hoped not.

And then, instead of crushing me, there was a crunching, clanging sound.

Becky was standing over me, shield raised.

The troll's club had bounced off her shield.

There was a moment of silence. The troll looked confused, a little taken aback.

Her shield looked completely undamaged.

It made sense. With Ted's Supportive Partner buff, her Satisfaction was a whopping 15.

"I-I'm awesome," Becky breathed, staring up at the troll.

"Hold its attention, okay?" My voice was shaky. I wanted to yell at her -- she'd almost gotten me killed -- but for the moment, I exclusively felt relief, and pulled myself to my feet.

---

I wasn't even sure that Becky needed to use her armor's Draw Attention ability; the troll seemed to take its inability to harm her extremely personally. It bellowed its rage over and over as it repeatedly swung at her, again and again. She wasn't as nimble as me, and some of the blows staggered her or drove her backwards.

But her shield was in the way each time, and once she realized that it couldn't hurt her badly, Becky seemed to warm up to the task, taunting it as it tried to crush her but couldn't.

This freed me up to go on offense, but the troll was still a house-sized opponent. Over the next five minutes, as it raged against Becky, I had it bleeding from two-dozen wounds. I still couldn't seem to get it in the vitals, though -- it was too dangerous.

"Ted, I'm going to distract it, see if you can hit it in the head with that potion," I called.

"Right," I heard back.

I didn't have to wait long for an opening. Increasingly enraged by Becky and the many wounds, the troll abandoned its club and instead grabbed her. Becky hadn't expected it, and shrieked as she was lifted up into the air.

It shook her, squeezing hard and yelling in her face.

"Ow, g-guys, this hurts," Becky wailed. She was scrabbling futilely against its double-fisted grip around her body.

I wasted no time. With both of the troll's hands occupied, I climbed up its body rapidly, using the odd toga for handholds.

And when I got up to its neck, I plunged my sword in deep and pulled it out. Blood gouted from the wound.

The monstruous creature flailed wildly, tossing Becky a full twenty feet, where she landed in a heap. The movement shook me off -- I landed more gracefully in a crouch.

And then there was a deafening, booming explosion, as Ted's vial hit it square in the face.

The sound left me disoriented, my ears ringing for a moment.

I stood, unsteadily, to realize that the troll was making an odd, throaty, barking sound. It had sunk to one knee.

A lot of the fight had gone out of it, but it was trying to stand back up.

Time to finish the job.

I strode towards it, grimly, blade in hand. Marched right up. It couldn't look me in the eye; its face was a mass of ugly-looking burns and scorches.

A moment later, green blood pooling out of its throat, the troll fell forward, first to both knees, then facedown.

Its movement stilled.

ENCOUNTER COMPLETED.
FORMIDABLE: YOU HAVE BESTED A FORMIDABLE OPPONENT AND GAINED A NEW PERK.

The crowd had scattered during the fight, and the street was weirdly silent as we collected ourselves.

We needed to get on the other side of that gate, I decided. Who knew what else the goblins had besides war trolls.

I was sorely tempted to try to send Becky through instead of me. I was tired; the war troll had been a real workout. And those guards had been eyeing her in her little battle uniform.

But I wasn't sure she'd handle it well enough on her own.

So I resisted the urge to check my statistics, and instead wiped my blade clean and straightened my shoulders, before turning my attention to Max.

The other guards were openly gawping at the body of the troll from the other side of the gate. Max, however, was standing behind them, lips pursed.

"You said you'd let us in if we killed the troll." I gestured behind me with my blade, before sheathing it. "Troll dead. Let us in."

He nodded slowly. "I said I'd let you in. You killed it, and that's a major service to the King, so you can come through. Your companions can't, though. Can't go letting people in willy-nilly."

"I did a lot of the work! We should all get to come through!" Becky protested. The troll's grasp on her had knocked her armor completely askew -- her skirt was disheveled, revealing one leg all the way up to her hip, and her tits were barely covered.

A few of his guards, eyeing her, murmured in agreement.

But the guard captain shook his head, firmly. "I'm not letting some elf wench and a random merchant in. This lady killed the troll; we all saw it."

I figured once I was on the other side of the gate I could probably sway the crowd of guards further. "Look, why don't you let just me through for now, then," I said, amiably.

"Chloe!" Becky was aghast.

I mouthed give me a moment to Becky and Ted. Ted nodded; Becky looked far more conflicted, but didn't say anything further.

I gave Max an innocent smile. "C'mon, let me in and let's talk about it."

Max rolled his eyes. "You're not going to convince me, lady. But sure, come on through. I'm a man of my word. And you might be good with that sword, but there are a lot of us over here, so don't try anything."

Warily, he opened the gate. I brushed past him.

He shut and locked it behind me. "There you go, then. You can be on your way, citizen." His voice was cheerful, but his eyes were wary, clearly expecting some kind of ploy.

"Be on my way? But your men look so lonely," I protested. I gave the half-dozen men around us an appreciative smile. "I mean, they must've been here all night, right? And they're so brave...protecting us from the goblin threat...I'm sure they feel underappreciated..."

There were mutters of agreement from the men around me. I could feel their eyes on my body. Eventually, Jim -- the first one to speak earlier, said, "I-it has been since a woman was...appreciative of our work, sir..."

But Max rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it has, because this is a job. You can't just-"

He trailed off, because I'd smoothly turned to Jim, was ignoring Max. "I'm sure it has," I cooed out the words. I could feel what the game had meant when I'd pulled up Jim's description: he was putty in my hands, easy for me to have my way with. "Want me to help?"

Jim just nodded, breathless.

I reached down and felt his cock through his uniform. "So ready, so eager," I murmured. "I know just what a big, strong guard like you needs-"

"O-oh god-" Jim's voice cracked.

"What's wrong?" I asked the question innocently as I palmed him more thoroughly. I could feel how inexpert his own control over himself was, how consumed he was by me. His eyes were fighting between staring into mine like he was intoxicated, and rolling up, his eyelids closing.

"J-just, u-uh-" Words failed him.

"Just what, Jim?"

Instead of responding, he let out a loud groan, and bucked his hips.

He was cumming in his pants.

One of the other guards snorted. "Jim, are you seriously-"

I turned at the guard who was speaking, and he cut off midsentence, swallowing hard as he met my gaze. "Mmm, think you can handle it better? Let's find out."

He couldn't.

All the guards were the same, as it turned out. Trivial, the system had said. I moved from one to another; the right words whispered in their ears, a few deft touches each, had them all losing control in a moment. In the space of ninety seconds, there were a half-dozen men, redfaced and embarrassed, trying their best to gather their dignity.

I felt powerful. Untouchable.

I turned my attention to Max, who had watched all this impassively. He arched an eyebrow. "We're not goblins, you know. They're not gonna fall into some stupor; they'll still obey my orders."

"Well, I haven't taken care of you yet," I said, suggestively.

"And you're not going to," he said, flatly. "Unlike them, I know my job. I've been doing it since they were children. That's not gonna change just because some pretty lady shows up."

"I understand." I nodded, sympathetically. "It would be embarrassing, to be unmanned this quickly in front of your own men. It would be better if we didn't."

He reddened. "Please. I'm working. If the situation were different, I'd show you what a real man can do."

"Oh, of course you would. If the situation were different." My lips curved into what I knew was probably an obnoxious, mocking smile. I lapsed into silence.

The silence stretched for a moment, growing tenser and tenser, before Max finally broke it.

"Fine. I'm gonna teach you a fucking lesson," he growled. I watched with amusement as he unzipped his pants.

ENCOUNTER STARTED.

His cock was thick, already hard and glistening from watching me turn his men into helpless, shuddering messes.

I didn't respond immediately, just stared at his erect length, an eyebrow raised. As the silence lengthened, I could see the tension in his jaw.

"What kind of lesson could you possibly teach me?" I filled my voice with mirth.

He didn't answer, but I could see the flicker of uncertainty in his eyes.

He wasn't marked as trivial by the game like his men, but I could tell that he was no match for me. Perhaps if we'd been dueling -- although my stats had grown so much already this level that I didn't like his odds there, either.

This wouldn't take long.

I held his gaze with my eyes. "Well, you actually got it out, so I suppose you're already further along than they made it, aren't you?"

He grunted. The sound was controlled -- but it was the kind of control that indicated he was barely restraining his own desire.

I stepped close, so that there was only inches separating us. "Now. What do you want me to do, Captain Max?"

He stood still. "Why don't you, uh, start just by touching it, like you were doing for them," he gruffed out.

"Put on a show for them, huh? Show them you're made of sterner stuff?" As I spoke softly, I circled him, trailing fingers over one shoulder, across a cheek.

He nodded, tension vibrating through his body.

"Are you sure? Just touch it? You don't want to bend me over, push me up against the bars so you can ravage me like a real man?"

He opened his mouth for some retort, but before he could respond, I trailed a hand down his chest, casually wrapping one palm around his length. The words died on his lips, became a groan instead.

"Maybe you're worried that you wouldn't even make it inside me if I were naked." I stage-whispered the words in his ears, loud enough for his comrades to hear, too. The other guards were still reeling, trying to pull themselves together, but I could feel their eyes glued to us -- whether they were hoping that their captain wouldn't fold as easily as they had, or hoping for a show, I wasn't sure.

He glanced around, taking in the guardsmen watching him. "I could," he said.

“Mmm, you sound like a man trying to convince himself. Think about your men watching." I let my lips brush his ear, my smile wicked. "Better not lose control, Captain."

I did pump him now, a single stroke. I knew he was on edge, could feel his body, taut, trembling in spite of his effort to hold still.

He tried to laugh it off, but it came out shaky. “Lady, I-"

I didn't let him say more than that. I leaned in, my voice dropping to a low, throaty whisper. “I mean, it would be so embarrassing if you came right now, Max, in front of all your men. Wouldn't it?”

"I'm not...going to..." He gritted the words out.

"Oh, I know you don't want to," I acknowledged.

I activated The Voice.

The Voice [D]
Once per encounter, you may add half of your Dominance, rounded down, to your Verbal score for three seconds.
(Currently, this talent will temporarily give you +5 Verbal when activated.)

The ability had already grown so much more powerful than when I'd first gotten it. It wasn't just that I said the right thing; there was something behind the words, now, a power that wrapped around his will as firmly as my hand was wrapped around his cock, shaped his desire into what I wanted, stoked him beyond the point of no return.

"But you're going to, aren't you? You're going to cum for me. Do it now."

He moaned; it was a surprisingly submissive sound from the gruff man.

I stroked him again, and that was it.

His body jerked like he’d been shocked. Face crimson, eyes wide with humiliation, his cock pulsed, spurting a hot, sticky release across the ground. The sound of his climax was unmistakable—a helpless whimper, as his knees buckled.

I pulled my hand away.

The guards stared, open-mouthed, as their captain lost all control. He sagged back, utterly undone; made a series of small, frustrated sounds at the lack of continued stimulation as his cock throbbed out an orgasm.

ENCOUNTER COMPLETED.
GREAT WITH YOUR HANDS: -1 DOMINANCE FOR OTHER PARTICIPANTS

Shit. I'd gotten caught up in the moment, had completely forgotten that I needed to be careful about using my hands, now. At least Becky and Ted hadn't participated in the encounter. I glanced through the bars at the two of them, gave them a thumbs up.

Ted was staring at me openmouthed; I thought I could see an erection in his robes.

Becky looked simultaneously impressed and a little afraid.

Reducing his Dominance seemed to have cowed the guard captain, or perhaps it was just the embarrassment at how quickly he'd come undone for me. Either way, he was avoiding eye contact, buckling his pants back up slowly.

I tossed my hair over my shoulder, sauntering past him. “Thanks for the warm welcome, boys. Appreciate you standing guard and all. C'mon, Ted, Becky. Let's head towards the castle. We need to find some invitations to a ball."

I unlocked the gate and let my friends into the Inner City.

---

Author's Note: I should post 1.15 later this week, depending on how quickly I can get it assembled; it will include some back and forth between the characters, as well as some more character upgrade choices.