It was evening of the third day when Rumor first caught a glimpse of Pankot Palace in the distance. They were 10 or so kilometers away, and a glimpse at his menu revealed he still had 6 hours to complete his main mission.
So close to the palace now, which was the center of power of the Thuggee Cult, Rumor could feel several pairs of eyes on them. But it was too risky to go hunting for cultist watchers now. He might get surrounded or lured into a trap.
There was something he could do, however, which would piss off the cult immensely. Not that Rumor cared, he had already positioned himself quite strongly against them.
"Huff! A-ha! Found it!"
Having watches the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom just a week or so before entering his second incursion, Rumor was quite familiar with even the smaller details of the plot. The shrine to Kali he now saw in front of him was one such.
It was an ugly, gruesome thing. A statue just a little shorter than him, depicting a vaguely human-shaped being, but with a very clearly inhuman head. Sharp fangs protruded from a lip-less mouth, and an uncannily long tong slithered from the same.
Hanging around the neck of the statue was a string with a dozen rotting severed fingers dangling from it. Chopped off ears were attached to bracelets around the arms of the statue, and at its foot was a whole severed head.
A child's severed head, though the size was the only way of telling that since the eyes had been gouged out, the ears, noses, and lips cut off, and the scalp peeled back.
Even Rumor had to hold back the contents of his stomach. Short Round didn't manage to, and Willie just fainted.
Rumor didn't remember it being this bad in the movie. And the head... That he was sure it was new. It was too fresh. The blood pooling under it had just started clotting, and not even flies were feasting on it yet.
It was a warning. To him.
Because of him.
At that thought, Rumor lost the battle with his stomach. He stepped to the side and vomited.
Rumor would be the first to admit he was a bad men. He had had a hard life, and it led him to a path of crime - stealing, selling information. He knew sometimes he had hurt others, either purposefully or simply by the virtue of his trade.
And it had only gotten worse after the entered the Mind. Here, there were no morals to hold him back. Here, he could do whatever he wanted. The only limit was his power.
But even then, he had some lines he wouldn't cross. Slavery was one of them. It was part of the reason why he had so readily and openly opposed the Thuggee Cult - though the fact his main mission pretty much ensured he had to take the side of the good guys by making him guide the main storyline characters definitely influenced it.
Another of his limits were children. Having been a street orphan in the Quarter, he knew exactly how cruel the world could be to kids. And he refused to become like so many of the monsters he had to run from back then.
And the Thuggee Cult had crossed both of those lines when they kidnapped children to mine for them.
But now, they had done even worse. They had killed a child, and in such a brutal and gruesome way, all as a form of warning - to him.
It took a minute for Rumor to stop puking, and several more before he was able to stand up without shaking. And once he did, it was woth pure, unadulterated rage contortions his features.
Turning around, he walked back to the lead elephant, which was also carrying their supplies. He didn't notice Indiana Jones watching him while he ruffled through the bags.
The archeologist's expression also showed anger, but it was mostly covered by pity and resignation. He could see through Rumor's thought process, and knew the tester would spend the rest of his life plagued by today's scene - mostly because he was right, this child died partially due to his actions.
Which was why he didn't stop Rumor when he threw the whole pack to the ground in rage. Nor when he started ripping apart a spare tunic and soaking the strips into what little alcohol they had brought from Mayapore Village to help start fires.
He only intervened when Rumor dropped the whole thing over the shrine and pulled out a flint and steel. Thrusting his arm in front of the tester's chest, he stared him dead in the eye.
"Are you sure?"
Rumor glared at him, at the moment completely uncaring that Indiana Jones was a main storyline character, or that, technically, the child wasn't even real.
"There is no peace to be found by them. Not in how they died."
"Or to you."
Rumor scowled, and pushed Indiana Jones' arm aside. Then he struck a spark, and set the whole shrine ablaze, including its macabre warning.
Stone shouldn't have burnt as well as the shrine did. The flames reached high in the air, licking the lower branches of the trees. They burned almost black.
Beneath the rolling fire, Rumor could see the statue of Kali distorting and melting. The fingers, ears, and head were almost gone, impossibly fast for a flame of such heat.
Czzzzzzzzzkkkkkkaaaarrrrgggh!
Suddenly, an ear-bursting screech came from the statue, at first like grating stone, then sounding more and more human-like as it grew in pitch.
"Get back!"
Indiana Jones grabbed Short Round by the neck and pulled him behind him at the same time as Rumor stumbled back.
And it was just in time too. The whole shrine burst apart, flaming shrapnel tearing through the trees. Rumor himself was hit by a couple pieces, and 20 of his health points vanished while bloody holes were left on his chest and the arms he hastily raised to protect his face.
[ You have destroyed a shrine for the god Kali. Your actions have caused irreparable enmity between you and the Thuggee Cult. ]
[ Your relationship with the Thuggee Cult has precipitously fallen to Nemesis (10.000/10.000). ]
[ Warning! The Thuggee Cult sees you as their bitter enemy. Members of the cult are likely to attack you on sight. ]
[ Hidden achievement completed: Burning Hate. ]
[ Burning Hate (complete): Have your relationship with a major faction fall to the lowest level for the first time. Faction for achievement completion: Thuggee Cult (Indiana Jones universe). ]
[ Completion reward: Fame across all universes +1, Prestige +500. ]
[ This is the final achievement in this line. ]
[ Your reputation with the Thuggee Cult has increased to Reputable (1.800/10.000). ]
[ Hidden achievement completed: Enemy of Kali. ]
[ Enemy of Kali (completed): Reach a reputation of Reputable while at the same time having a relationship of Hostile or lower with the Thuggee Cult. ]
[ Completion reward: Reputation in British Army (Indian Division) +2.000. ]
[ This is the final achievement in this line. ]
[ Your reputation with the British Army (Indian Division) has reached Well-Known (0/5.000). ]
[ Achievement completed: Colonial Consultant. ]
[ Colonial Consultant (completed): Reach a reputation of Well-Known with the British forces. ]
[ Completion reward: Letter of Invitation. ]
[ This achievement can be further upgraded into Royal Subject (Britain). ]
[ Royal Subject (Britain): Reach a reputation of Venerable with the British Empire across any universe. ]
Rumor didn't see any of those notifications, not at first. He just stared into the fire, blood running from his slowly closing wounds.
He looked on and shivered. For when you stared at the abyss...
...
It was a subdued group that surmounted the entrance to Pankot Palace a handful of hours later. Willie was still pale, Short Round's attempts at lighting up the mood fell flat, amd Indiana Jones was lost in thought.
And Rumor hadn't said a word since he set the shrine on fire.
He had spent the entire trip trying to rationalize, to himself, that this was just a virtual realm created by The Mind. Just a game. A realistic, deadly one, but still just a game.
It wasn't working.
The Mind was simply too real. And, well, if something as incredible as it existed, who was to say all those other supposedly fictional works weren't also real in some shape or form?
Bottom line was, it felt real. And Rumor was both traumatized and furious.
But he had had time to cool down. And so Rumor's fury had simmered down, boiling just beneath the surface of his being, but hidden by the colder, more analytical side of his mind that made him a good storyteller.
His priority was arriving at Pankot Palace and completing his main mission. Everything else was secondary to that objective, since if he failed, he would die.
Which was why, when they saw the welcoming delegation waiting for them at the entrance of the palace, he kept a carefully crafted neutral mask on.
He didn't miss the concealed glares sent his way, even if he ignored them. He had, after all, become the 'bitter enemy' of the Thuggee Cult, as The Mind put it, so it stood to reason that all its members wanted nothing more than to jump him and slit his neck.
He hadn't thought Pankot Palace would be this badly infiltrated. About one in every three guards they passed stared at him like he had killed their mother. And of the welcoming committee, only the British officers weren't cultists.
Rumor shrugged off their glares with ease. They couldn't attack him here, in full view of Indiana Jones and the other main storyline characters, much less the British.
And his main mission was about to be completed anyway. By then, there was nothing else they could do to him ever again. He doubted The Mind would send him in another incursion to this very scenario.
After helping Short Round and Willie to dismount, Rumor looked at the front most elephant. Indiana Jones had jumped down on his own, of course, but Rumor's attention was on the giant animal itself.
This was as close to a secondary goal as the tester had, and he was delighted when the mammal wrapped its trunk around him.
On a whim, Rumor took our the last [ Delicious Unknown Fruit ] out of his inventory, and fed it to the elephant. It let out a happy cry before glowing in sudden white light and becoming a tiny ball that merged with Rumor's chest. Nobody seemed to even notice a giant pachyderm disappearing before their very eyes.
[ Achievement completed: Men's Best Friend. ]
[ Men's Best Friend (completed): Successfully tame an Indian Elephant. ]
[ Completion reward: 2-Stars Summoning Contract (Indian Elephant). ]
[ 2-Stars Summoning Contract (Indian Elephant) ]
[ Rarity: 2-Stars ]
[ Effect: Summon a 2-Stars Indian Elephant from the Indiana Jones Universe. Each summoning lasts 8 hours. ]
[ Cooldown: 24 hours ]
[ Restrictions: If the summoned creature dies, the contract is automatically discarded. ]
[ Description: A summoning contract used to bring summoned creatures from different universes to your aid. The summoned creature is loyal to the summoner. Due to the low level of this contract, the summoned creatures are limited in scope and intelligence. ]
[ Observation: Can be brought out of this world. ]
[ Tip: At your current prestige, you can only have one Summoning Contract active at a time. ]
A small grin appeared on Rumor's face. As expected. He eagerly brought up the details lf the summoned creature.
[ Indian Elephant ]
[ Gender: Female ]
[ Age: 14 ]
[ Strength: 14 ]
[ Dexterity: 6 ]
[ Vitality: 20 ]
[ Temperance: 8 ]
[ Spirit: 6 ]
[ Appeal: 3 ]
[ Skills: Stable Ride, Thunderous Charge lvl 2 ]
[ Special Skills: None ]
[ Description: A mature female Indian Elephant, trained since young by the people of Mayapore Village. While possessing a very kind and calm personality, one shouldn't underestimate the power contained in its body. ]
[ Stable Ride: Passive. Tamed and trained since young, this creature is exceptionally stable when ridden. ]
[ Thunderous Charge lvl 2: Active. Use your body as a battering ram. Deals 150% attack damage. Can't change directions while charging. ]
His grin widened a little. The restrictions on summoning numbers wasn't unexpected, but the fact that it was a 2-Stars contract was a welcome bonus, as was the summoning duration. It was roughly equivalent to, once per day, being able to summon a tester with 3 or 4 incursions under their belt to aid him.
"Welcome! Welcome to Pankot Palace, Dr. Jones and companions!"
The man leading the group waiting for them in front of the palace deserved the description of 'sleezy' more than anyone Rumor had ever met. He was small, think, and had round glasses perched on top of a pointed nose, as well as the most patently fake smile Rumor had ever seen.
The tester didn't miss the flash of hate behind the beady eyes, and, if he was reading Indiana Jones' posture correctly, neither did the archeologist.
"You know who I am?"
"Of course! Word of your exploits have reached even us, Dr. Jones. Once we heard you were on your way here, His Highness Maharajah Zalim Singh ordered that a banquet be prepared in your honor. Ah, but where are my manners? I am Prime Minister Chattar Lal, and this is Captain Phillip Blumburtt of the British Colonial Authorities. He will also be joining us tonight."
Almost unconsciously, Rumor used [ Observe ] on both of them.
[ Chattar Lal ]
[ Titles: Prime Minister of Pankot Palace ]
[ Species: Human ]
[ Strength: 6 ]
[ Dexterity: 9 ]
[ Vitality: 9 ]
[ Temperance: ?? ]
[ Spirit: ?? ]
[ Appeal: ?? ]
[ Skills: Outstanding Leadership lvl 7, Cultist Faith lvl 9, ??, ?? ]
[ Special Skills: ?? ]
[ Description: Originally a follower of Maharajah Zalim Singh's father, Chattar Lal has fallen to the influence of the Thuggee Cult, and now lives only to satisfy the wishes of Kali. ]
[ Prime Minister of Pankot Palace: This title signifies the highest existence below the Maharajah in Pankot Palace. ]
[ Title Effects: All guards, servants, and otherwise inhabitants of Pankot Palace will obey the orders of the title holder unconditionally, unless they go against or cause harm to Maharajah Zalim Singh. ]
And then--
[ Phillip Blumburtt ]
[ Titles: Colonial Captain ]
[ Species: Human ]
[ Strength: 36 ]
[ Dexterity: 42 ]
[ Vitality: 30 ]
[ Temperance: 10 ]
[ Spirit: 16 ]
[ Appeal: 16 ]
[ Skills: Fast Reload lvl 8, Army Tactics lvl 6, Authority lvl 6, Conjoined Movement lvl 4, Instantaneous Relocation lvl 3 ]
[ Special Skills: Royal Edict lvl 3, Fire at Will lvl 1 ]
[ Description: A Captain of the British Colonial Authorities, Blumburtt act in the name of the crown, but his edge has been dulled by a long time of adulations. ]
[ Colonial Captain: A title given to those recognized by the British Crown to act in their instead over their colonies. ]
[ Title Effects: All military forces under the command of of title holder receive +5 strength, dexterity, and vitality. ]
Rumor was glad to see that, for all they were still far too strong to the current him, secondary storyline characters like those who didn't have much screen time in the movies were far from being on the level of a main storyline character.
Captain Blumburtt was particularly interesting to him. His stats were heavily skewed towards the physical side of things, which allowed Rumor to, for the first time, get the full view of a storyline character's stats.
"Hm?"
It was either a start that Rumor was brought out of his musings by Short Round nudging him. He lifted his head and saw both Chattar Lal and Captain Blumburtt staring at him.
The first looked like he wanted to skin the tester alive, which was no surprise. But the latter had curiosity shining in his gaze, and Rumor realized that his Well-Known reputation with the local British Army contingent must be doing the work.
Plus, when he killed Night Terror, the giant man-eating tiger, one of his rewards had been the interest of the British captain. It had seemed ephemeral at the time, but now he was starting to understand what effect it had.
The captain looked like he was about to speak up when the world suddenly lost color. The people, the animals, even the wind had all frozen.
Rumor stared around with interest until the familiar interface of The Mind popped into existence in front of him, at the same time that the androgynous voice chimed in his ears.