Power Quest

Chapter 5: Don't Mess With Mr. Pink

Putting on the dead guards' uniforms was a gruesome task. The bodies had bled profusely, and both suits - leather armor included - were sticky with blood and gore, and smelled accordingly. While neither Ben nor Red shied away from the grisly business, Red didn't stop frowning and muttering to himself as he worked, which Ben found puzzling. How can a man who seemed so bloodthirsty be repulsed by putting on a bloody shirt?

There was another moment of self-reflection for Ben, which came right after Red removed his nobleman's outfit. Ben found himself staring openly at the other man, whose body seemed to rival that of some African god. There wasn't a single flaw in the mercenary's form; his muscles were toned and fine, his smooth, dark skin seemed to glow with an inner light. Every movement he made was flawless, his muscles complementing each other perfectly. Thinking about his own skinny body in comparison, Ben suddenly felt ashamed. He looked away, trying to busy himself with unbuckling the guard's bloody chest armor - a task that was more complicated than it seemed.

"You're not doing it right. You have to apply pressure here, and here." Red, still shirtless, moved closer to help his befuddled companion, and Ben had to actually struggle not to look at the marvel that was the mercenary's muscular body. What is wrong with me? Ben never found other men's naked torsos to be so interesting. 

"Yeah I got it," he said without really looking. "Thanks." Once again, he didn't catch the small smile that appeared on the warrior's face as the other man returned to his business.

After a few minutes, they were as ready as they could be. The guards were about their sizes, so the uniforms and the leather armor fit nicely. Ben was also glad to receive the expected bonus to his defense:

Common Leather Armor

Armor level: 1

Bonus to defense: 3 (original: 4)

Description: The formal armor of the Sonadin's militia, it is a simple and almost crude armor made of cheap leather. It is next to useless, but it does give a small bonus to defense and who knows, someday it can even save your life.

Current state: bloody and torn (-1 to defense)

How high was his defense, anyway? Ben needed to find his character sheet, and he had to do it soon. He briefly considered asking Red to wait while he tried to play with his virtual interface, but decided against it. They were lucky with those two guards, but he didn't know when the guards' friends would come to investigate the delay - in that case, he and Red would be hard-pressed to explain the naked bodies in the cell, especially while wearing their bloody armor.

He did, however, take the time to examine two prompts that he dismissed during the encounter with the guards:

>> Well done! You have crossed the first threshold for the skill Bluff. Anyone can lie, but it appears you can do it better than most. Keep bluffing to increase the skill and convince people that what you say and do is the truth, we promise not to tell. Associated abilities: wisdom, charisma.

Bluff: level 11

You are now much more convincing with your lies. Anyone with lower wisdom than your bluff skill will have a hard time seeing through your ruse. Every point lower than your bluff skill is another 5% that is added to your chances of success. (Example: if you try to bluff someone with level 8 wisdom, with your current rank of bluff you will have a 15% chance to succeed).

Bonus for crossing the first threshold (level 10): 10% more likely to bluff successfully, even against those whose wisdom skill is higher than your bluff skill.