Chapter 34: Lay On Hands

  The goblin skirmisher lay splayed atop the snow, his chest caved in; the jagged sword sat impotent in his motionless green hand. Chastity was assaulted with chimes and notifications.

  The remaining goblins stood rooted in place, eyes wide and mouths agape at their vanquished better. Chastity drew a second javelin from the elven quiver. The scouts stumbled backwards, releasing their hold on the captive, then turned and fled.

  I could skewer them both before they reach the treeline, Chastity thought, mentally swiping aside the text boxes.

  But she relaxed her grip on the projectile. The threat was ended, at least for now.

  “Shouldn’t… have let… them get away…” the wounded ‘blueskin’ wheezed, hobbling over and leaning against the hollow log he had previously been hiding in.

  Chastity watched the fleeing goblins disappear beyond the wall of pine across the clearing and murmured noncommittally. Looking down at the deceased enemy, several competing emotions wrestled within her.

  Sorrow: she had taken a life. This skirmisher was dead by her own hand. The life of a hostile being within a fantasy world, but a life nonetheless.

  Repulsion: the imploded torso was not a pleasant sight. True, Chastity had begun her college career as pre-med, but she had never reached the point of cadaver work or observing surgeries before switching majors.

  Justification: she had given the goblins every opportunity to cease their aggression and attempted to end this encounter peaceably. Ultimately, she acted not only in self-defense but protected the unusual person the goblins were pursuing.

  Power: the activation of the Smite Evil ability left a residual sensation of holy strength, and the result of one Paladin standing down three enemies was a confidence booster. Having leveled up, she felt invigorated by the instantly refilled Life Points and Focus Points as well.

  At the same time as these conflicting emotions played out in her heart, her mind grappled with the rational and theological arguments for having taken a life. She didn’t need to Recall Knowledge for the lessons to pop into her head. The commandment was not thou shalt not kill, but rather thou shalt not murder. The concept of bellum iustum, or theory of a just war. The power of the sword being granted to the state to punish wrongdoers, and all that.

  But Chastity was not at war, as far as she knew. Nor was she a representative of a divinely-sanctioned government. And yet her translation into this fantasy world, and the mantle of Paladin that had been placed upon her, necessitated the use of force to defend the innocent or stand against the forces of evil.

  It was all a bit too heady in the immediate aftermath and adrenaline rush of the fateful moment.

  She yanked the javelin from the body and began cleaning blood off the shaft with handfuls of snow. Distracted by the lingering notification hovering at the edge of her vision, she verbally opened her Character Record and navigated to her Ability Tree. She was surprised to see several additional Ability options ready to unlock.

  One ability I can advance, and three I can unlock, Chastity thought. I was wondering what this ‘ability split’ would be. Now I have the chance to find out.

  She focused on the Detect Evil tree.

  Interesting, thought Chastity, rubbing her chin. The ability split gives me the option to advance Detect Evil to the next ability level, increasing the cost by one focus point per use, but allows me to detect evil objects as well as creatures. Hmmm, what might an evil object be? It’s hard to think of examples.

  Alternatively, I can evolve or transform my Detect Evil skill into Sense Evil. Sort of a lateral move. That one is listed as ability level 1, still only allowing me to detect evil creatures. However, it seems I would permanently operate at a five focus point deficit to have that ability always active.

  It reminded Chastity of Spider-Man. My evil-sense is tingling…

  Navigating to the other abilities, Chastity read on.

  That was an interesting ability, and could have very practical uses–although probably not for combat. Chastity could only wonder what changes such an ability might have if she continued to invest ability points in it over time.

  Injured, realized Chastity. It doesn’t say sick, and certainly not deceased. No way I could, for example, raise this goblin from the dead, not that I would rightfully expect or even seek power over life and death.

  She thought of the Professor. Again, she had no way of knowing his fate, only that she had left him behind with a dangerous young man. Others on campus too. Would she be able to use such healing powers back in the so-called real world, if she ever returned? She tried not to dwell on that.

  Regardless of hypotheticals, she had five options for spending her lone Ability Point.

  A shuffling noise brought her back to the present and she turned to see the strange newcomer slump over, sliding off the log and collapsing in the snow.

  “Oh no!”

  Chastity rushed to his side. This whole time the blood continued to seep from his side–too much blood. The poor fellow was unconscious.

  Stupid! the Paladin admonished herself. You were so distracted you forgot about his injuries!

  She tried to lift up the side of his filthy shirt, and found it sticky with pooling blood. There was a significant wound, likely a gash from one of the scout’s short swords.

  Without hesitation, Chastity selected Divine Healing from the Ability Tree.

  Chastity lay both her hands on the wounded individual.

  “Divine Healing!”

  A tingling sensation filled her, and she felt power flow into the patient. Leveling up had restored her Focus Points to full–even increased them to a max of 25. She felt those Focus Points draining as she channeled the miraculous healing power.

  Would 25 Life Points be enough to stabilize him? Or was she already too late? If he slipped beyond the bounds of life, there was nothing she could do.