The plan was insane. It was a synthesis of high-level raid strategy and small-town logistical reality. And it was all coming together in a Discord voice channel.
Chris sat in his bedroom, his pink bunny-ear headphones on, a bead of sweat tracing a path down his temple. He had the weapon. He had the skill. Now, he needed a party.
"Okay, so let me get this straight," Richard's voice crackled through the headset, a sound of nerdy glee. "The final boss of this ARG, the corrupt mayor NPC, is holding a live, in-game event tonight. And the main objective is to get him to sign a contract with a cursed quill that applies a 'Truth' debuff."
"That's the gist of it," Chris said, his own voice a low, anxious murmur. He was staring at the official Buckhannon town website, which announced the special City Council meeting to vote on the "Gateway Initiative" at 7 PM sharp.
Jessica's voice, clear and practical, cut in from her end of the call. "And this... debuff... it's a touch-range effect, right? He has to physically be holding the item for it to work?"
"Right," Chris confirmed. "And it has a short duration. The effect only lasts for twenty-four hours. We have to apply it right at the moment he's about to perform the signing action, or we lose the window."
There was a moment of silence on the channel as Richard, a seasoned raid leader with years of experience coordinating forty-person dragon-slaying operations, processed the tactical variables.
"Okay," Richard said, his voice shifting into raid-leader tone. "Okay, so it's a touch-range debuff with a short duration on a single target. This is like a classic assassination mission. We need a distraction and a delivery mechanism. We can't just walk up and hand him a cursed item. He'll make his saving throw."
"I don't think he has a saving throw for this," Chris muttered, more to himself than to them.
"Doesn't matter," Richard insisted. "We plan for the worst-case scenario. We need to create an opportunity where he has to use our item. We need to control the environment. Jessica, you're our rogue, our infiltrator. What's your access level to the target area?"
"The target area is the real City Hall meeting," Jessica said, a note of amusement in her voice. "And my access level is... volunteer. I signed up to help at the check-in table. I'll be on the stage, handing out agendas and making sure the water pitchers are full."
Richard's voice lit up with excitement. "You're on the stage? That's perfect! You have direct access to the target's personal space. Okay, so what does he usually use to sign things? Does he have, like, a favorite pen? A legendary drop?"
"He has this ridiculously fancy fountain pen," Jessica said. "Gold-plated. He uses it for everything. It's like his personal scepter of self-importance."
"Perfect," Richard said. "So, here's the plan. Jessica, a few minutes before the signing, you create a small, believable distraction. Spill a glass of water, drop a stack of papers, something to draw the attention of the other NPCs on stage. While they're distracted, you perform a little sleight of hand. The Mayor's fancy, gold-plated pen... it just happens to go missing. It rolls off the table, it gets accidentally knocked into a trash can, whatever. The point is, it's gone."
He paused for dramatic effect. "So, when the time comes to sign the contract, the Mayor reaches for his pen, and it's not there. He'll be flustered. He'll be annoyed. He'll ask for a pen. And you, Jessica, our heroic and helpful volunteer, will just happen to have a spare one on hand. The cursed one."
A slow grin spread across Chris's face. It was a pretty good plan, actually. Richard's convoluted gamer logic and Jessica's real-world access may just give them a chance.
"I can do that," Jessica said, a determined note in her voice. "I can definitely make a pen disappear."
After the call, Chris had his own task to complete. He had to craft the another weapon. A cheap, blue Bic pen, the kind he had used for his final exam, wasn't going to cut it. The Mayor, a man of refined, if corrupt, tastes, would never sign a multi-million-dollar deal with a disposable pen. The item had to look the part.
He snuck into Pete's small home office. He found what he was looking for in a small, wooden box on the desk. It was one of Pete's nice pens, a heavy, expensive-looking fountain pen with a glossy, black lacquer finish and a silver clip. It was the kind of pen a man used to sign important things. It was going to have to make do.
He took the pen back to his bedroom. He sat down in his chair, the pen resting on his desk, and opened the [System Functions Library]. He found the new custom function he had written, his first original function.
[Function: Imbue Item – Truthfulness]
He targeted Pete's pen, the System automatically grabbing its ID. He executed the function. The imbued effect and the 24-hour duration were already saved as part of the function.
The command drained a sizable chunk of his EP bar, the blue line dropping by a third. He felt a woozy, mentally-taxed sensation, like a metaphysical hangover of rewriting reality. The fancy fountain pen on his desk momentarily glowed with a faint, barely perceptible golden aura that lasted for only a second and then was gone.
A notification appeared in his HUD.
[New Item Created in User's Inventory: [Pen of Unwavering Honesty (Temporary)]]
He used [INSPECT] on the pen, just to be sure.
[Object: [Pen of Unwavering Honesty]]
[Active Enchantment: [Conceptual Imbuement: "Unwavering Honesty"]]
[Duration of Imbuement: 23 Hours, 59 Minutes]
=========================================
He met Jessica an hour before the meeting, in the dimly lit parking lot behind City Hall. Chris, trying to affect the cool, detached air of a secret agent, walked toward her with what he hoped was a confident stride. He immediately tripped on a curb, stumbling forward with a startled yelp, catching himself on the hood of a parked car.
Jessica, who had been trying to look serious and conspiratorial, stifled a giggle, her hand flying to her mouth.
"Smooth," she said, a wide, amused grin on her face.
Chris's face burned with a hot flush of embarrassment as he straightened his t-shirt. "Uh... yeah..."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the enchanted pen. He held it out to her, the glossy black lacquer gleaming in the faint light of the parking lot lamps.
"The 'cursed item' is ready," he said, his voice a low, dramatic whisper. "Make sure the 'target' is the only one who uses it. The debuff is single-use."
Jessica took the pen, her fingers brushing against his. "Got it," she said, her own voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper. "The 'rogue' is in position. Wish me luck, Bucky Watcher."
She gave him a quick, reassuring wink and then disappeared back into the building.
Chris arrived at the packed City Hall meeting a few minutes later. The room was buzzing with an anxious energy. It was a mix of concerned citizens, local business owners, and a healthy number of bored-looking people who had clearly just come for the free coffee and donuts.
He saw Mayor Bob Thompson on the stage, sitting at a long, imposing table with the other members of the town council. The Mayor looked smug, confident, and utterly in control. He was schmoozing with the other council members, a wide, political smile plastered on his face.
Chris also saw Jessica, standing near the podium. She was arranging a stack of documents, her expression a nervous, but determined, professionalism. He saw the enchanted [Pen of Unwavering Honesty] tucked neatly into a folder of papers.
He found an empty spot in the back of the room, leaning against the wall, trying to look like a casual, disinterested observer. His heart was pounding against his ribs, a drum-and-bass rhythm of terror and excitement.