HotCat: Yes. I don’t have time to tell you everything, Prophet. Let’s discuss it later.
Olaf: All right. Can you get our dropped loot?
HotCat: I’ll take the valuable stuff. I can’t carry everything, you know.
The long light-filled passage led me into a domed shrine. Bright sunlight coming out of nowhere almost blinded my eyes. Giant statues were bent over a square altar: the God of Shadows was present in all of his guises, the Thief, the Wanderer, the Trader, the Beggar, and the Messenger. My old friend in a brown cloak was sitting on the altar, a content smile on his face. It was he who exuded the magic light filling the temple.
“Hi, Cat,” he said, talking to me like to an old friend and gesturing at a place right next to him.
“Come on, have a seat, don’t be afraid!” he laughed, seeing my hesitation. “A god permits you! It’s not like you can sit anywhere else here.”
Slyly, he glanced askance at me as I warily lowered myself on the warm stone, then placed his hand on my shoulder.
“I reclaimed the temple, the source of my power,” he told me, looking pleased. “And I think I owe someone a thank you.”
“Owing is good. You’re welcome.”
Your reputation with Tormis was increased by 50. Current value: 3960/15000 (Respect)
Tormis laughed.
“I really like you, Cat! You have a way with words.”
He patted me on the shoulder, and the Cloak of Shadows that he had once given me changed its color and fabric, becoming dark brown, thicker, and gaining an intricate trimming. Tormis was wearing the exact same one. I quickly opened the interface: yes, my new cloak had the orange coloring of a legendary item.
Cloak of Shadows
Quality: legendary. Material: shadow silk, moon cloth. Personal.
Emissary: increases reputation with all factions venerating Shadow to Respect.
Increases elemental and magic resistance by 50%.
+15 Intellect
Shadow Run: allows user to enter, leave, and move inside Shadow Plane at will. 5 minutes/3 hours.
Teleport to Temple: once per day, allows to return to the Grand Temple to meet your patron. 1 teleport/24 hours.
Grand Shield of Shadows: creates a protective shadow sphere impenetrable to any weapons. Duration: 10 minutes. Blocks up to 10,000,000 damage. 1 use/48 hours.
“Where did the old cloak go?” I asked.
“There,” Tormis informed me. “Reclaiming the temple restored almost all of my power. Now I can once again do this...”
He shook his hands, as if flexing them, and gave me a scrutinizing stare. An invisible force swept me over, hanging me in the air above the altar. A golden glow emanating from Tormis enveloped me, permeating my body.
Legendary archetype unlocked: Deity’s Proxy! You are the eleventh player in Dorsa to receive this archetype! Achievement unlocked: Deity’s Right Hand! You receive...
Do you wish to view the description of the archetype?
Proxy is not a priest or a disciple, but a trusted assistant who received part of a deity’s power. The abilities granted to them depend on the complexity of their task. Proxies act independently, becoming the embodiment of their patron’s ideals.
A legendary archetype! Common archetypes granted one passive and one active skill, uncommon one and two, rare two and two, an epic one added a talent that could be developed. What kind of properties would a legendary one have?
Do you wish to view the abilities of the archetype?
Damn right I did!
The Proxy of the God of Shadows
Rank 1: Shadow Seer (level up abilities to increase the rank)
Passive abilities:
Shadow Sight (1/5): you can see the Shadow Plane and its inhabitants without traveling there. Range: 2-3 steps, clarity: low.
HIDDEN (rank 2 required)
Active abilities:
Shadow Eyes (rank 1/5): you can use the eyes of any shadow in sight.
HIDDEN (rank 2 required)
HIDDEN (rank 3 required)
HIDDEN (rank 4 required)
Talent:
HIDDEN (rank 5 required)
HIDDEN (rank 6 required)
Shoot. The most delicious stuff was hidden. That said, I still had 18 unassigned attribute points in reserve that had piled up over the last month. In theory, I could use them right now to get rank three and unlock new abilities. But I’d rather wait. I was used to making decisions after contemplating them in peace, especially since I had enough time.
As if having heard my thoughts, Tormis said,
“There is one more issue. But let’s talk about it later. I recommend you go back to Eyre, immediately.”
“To Eyre? Why?” I asked. But once again, I was talking to air. The god had disappeared. Still, I managed to discern an elusive movement — a blurry silhouette that looked like it was viewed through a bottle-glass took off in the air, having grown shadow wings. That was probably the effect of Shadow Sight. Up close, I could see what happened in Shadow Plane. It was an unusual feeling, as if you switched camera mode on your communicator: day, night, infrared... The range really was small, only a few steps.
Eyre. I had to immediately return to Eyre. What for? What could be going on there? And I had no one to ask, either — everyone was in the raid. After some consideration, I wrote to my old acquaintaince.
Captain Panther: Hello, carebear.
HotCat: Hi. Are you in Eyre?
Captain Panther: How did you guess? Yes. There’s a spot of bother here.
HotCat: What sort of spot?
Captain Panther: Everyone’s over, anyway. Pandas attacked the city. Ten of them aggroed in the Upper Quarter. The guards tore them apart, we weren’t fast enough to get involved. Some of them got away, we couldn’t get them.
HotCat: So what did they want?
Captain Panther: We aren’t sure ourselves. They’ve turned some magic shop inside
