"Shit, man… I'm nervous as hell! Are you sure the stuff is alright to take? Is it legit? I've seen a lot of bad stories on Reddit and that, and I don't want to have a bad first trip. Especially since it was also, y'know… it's expensive."
A man of average height and average looks, at least according to himself, was anxiously pacing back and forth across his small room, with a phone in hand, increasingly becoming more and more skittish as time passed with no response from the other end of the line.
"Sighhhhhhh. Mate, I've already told you it's alright. Sourced from a decent place, I think, even legal I believe! Not all drugs are from crack houses, that's only like that in the films you watch, basically propaganda by the way."
The other person on the phone explains with a big sigh, causing a breath of relief to escape the nervous man, the one called Luke, after being, if even, vaguely reassured by his friend.
"Ha… sorry man, just having seen all those posts about people tripping balls and falling into different dimensions and being a lamp scared me, to be honest. I've got my family downstairs and don't want them coming up and seeing me transformed into a vegetable or something worse, y'know."
"Haha, it's alright bro, but that would definitely be quite the sight to see! Remind me next time we are together to spike you and record you while screaming NIGHTMARE NIGHTMARE NIGHTMARE!! hahaha!" A strange laugh blasts through the phone's speakers in Luke's hand, drawing a strange look from the man's face.
"Fuck off. Anyway, I'm off now. Maybe to see God or perhaps to become him! So I'll leave you to whatever gremlin shit you were doing before. See ya."
"In a bit, mate."
beep beep
The phone call was ended and the phone itself discarded, put onto a desk as Luke walks back over to his backpack, pulling out a little plastic bag containing a small sheet of paper with little pictures of Adventure Time printed on it. Acid tabs.
Taking them, he walks over to sit down on his bed, just taking a minute to let out a deep breath, clearing his mind of any negative thoughts that could sabotage his experience.
'It will be fine. Kevin said they are light doses… and that he does it all the time. Though he's a bit f*cking stupid to be fair, so that might be worrying after all.'
pfft
Luke seems to light up a bit with a chuckle, at the expense of his friend, of course. He breaks off a few of the tabs and places them onto his tongue. He lets them dissolve while hiding away the plastic bag filled with the rest in a drawer at his bedside, lying down on the bed afterwards and adjusting himself to get comfortable.
"Let's hope I don't see that strange lamp when I wake up, haha."
And with that joking last sentence, his eyes close as he lets his consciousness drift away, embracing the coming journey.
….
…
..
.
After a while, Luke's mind starts to awaken once more, finding himself in a place that graces his mind with perpetual confusion.
"What the fuu… where the hell am I?"
Looking down, he sees his body flying—or more accurately, floating—across a boundless pitch-black sky, passing through smoky clouds every once in a while, clouds that made his whole body shudder as he passed by.
Once more about to speak out loud just to express his confusion at the situation he has spawned into, he is interrupted by a melodious voice. The voice of a woman that seemed to tickle a part of his brain in such an unfamiliar way, bringing about foreign feelings that he understands are not his own.
"Oh, Corvo… if only there was someone else I could trust to send, just so you could remain near, but there is no one else, and the spymaster was right in insisting that I should be sending you."
The plague has taken so many, and we have to find a cure. When you are near… my heart feels at peace. Emily and I will count the days till you return. Hurry home and bring good news."
All of a sudden, the once black sky turns a bright blue, replacing the void above with bright sunlight, one that blares into his eyes. The words of that voice echo continuously inside his mind, causing further confusion that does not help at all. A voice both speaking to him yet not at the same time, creating an identity paradox difficult for him to understand.
But before he has time to ponder further, Luke feels his body start to fall.
"Wooooooaaaaaahhhhhh HEEELPP—…"
His embarrassing moment is shut down quickly, though, as he notices the fall he is experiencing is just a sped-up version of the previous floating trip he was in, just at a faster pace and in another direction. This direction… is straight down.
Passing swiftly through the clouds, he spots a castle-like structure off in the distance, as well as a fleet of ships outside that seem fairly old but with modern accents to them.
Luke sees that one smaller boat being lowered into the sea is seemingly the destination of his fall, and he is quickly proven right when his body starts to descend directly over… then into the body of one of the three men on board.
"Oh? What… the hell!"
Luke's voice turns static-like, echoing like a ghost as his body turns see-through and colourless.
As soon as his body phases all the way through the unknown man and settles in, it feels as if something clicks. Both inside 'his body' and mind in a way that feels… right. Quickly, he can suddenly see out of the man's eyes and use his senses as if they were his very own.
'I can't move anymore?! Why am I inside this guy?… pause.'
"STEADY HANDS. YEAH, THAT'S IT, KEEP GOING."
The man to his left starts shouting commands, directed to the people on the main ship responsible for getting the boat down into the ocean.
"CAST OFF LINE."
"CASTING OFF… and we're away."
The man, who on a closer look seems to be dressed in medieval-like guard clothes, walks over and speaks to the guy driving the boat in a commanding tone.
"Take us back to Dunwall Tower. Lord Corvo has news for the Empress."
The two in guard attire continue talking about curses, black magic, plagues, as well as it being strange times in their location, but Luke tunes them out. Noticing he too is in a type of guard uniform, and that he can't move his body at all—not an inch. Nor even a finger, nor a single twitch. He just stands there like a statue, not speaking at all either, as if he is going with the look.
Though from the outside, if one was watching closely, what could be seen was that the eyes of the body Luke was inhabiting start transforming—straight from a dark dull brown colour into a vibrant light hazel colour that glows briefly as if to celebrate dominance over the former colour.
'I feel like a bit of a broken record here and it's pissing me off, but what the hell is going on?! Why can't I move, and more importantly, what the hell is going on?!?!?'
He rightfully starts getting agitated and panicked before a cold sensation washes over his mind, keeping him calm and putting his emotions in check to a point that he starts dissociating.
Right in time as the boat enters a room, doors shutting behind them with a mechanical hiss, then with it the waters rising up and carrying them to the top tower like a water elevator.
"-and she's rising!"
Luke's mind is brought back into focus as the boat is about to reach the top.
After reaching the destination, a metal bridge descends onto the boat, clearly for them to use to actually get off. As they are preparing to depart, the commanding officer from earlier appears in front of him and suddenly speaks out in his direction.
"The Empress will be waiting for your news, Corvo."
At this point, not expecting anything to happen, Luke just stands waiting, but to his surprise, something strange happens.
The body that had been standing completely still this whole time—so much like a statue he would have thought it was one if the other guards weren't talking to him occasionally—actually nods his head before swiftly exiting the boat.
'???'
Leaving no time for Luke to express his confusion, the body continues walking towards the bridge when a fashionably dressed young lady, who appears to be 8–10 years old, runs up to him.
"CORVO! You're back!!"
The child shouts in excitement on the bridge in front of him, rushing over to the statue-like man. And the body once again moves of its own accord, bending down and stretching its arms out—a gesture which the child promptly runs into, bringing the two into a hug with the emotion of what appears to be a parent and child.
'Am I possessing someone? I can feel emotions in "my" brain that I know are not mine, pounding against my head, but I can separate them solely as information. Though that doesn't mean I stop feeling them pressing into my mind relentlessly.'
"Will you tell me about your trip? Pleeeaasee?! Were there any whales?"
The little girl continues talking with whom Luke can only think of as her father, but he once more tunes the voices out as he continues thinking deeply.
'This guy though… I can't feel any thoughts or even another consciousness, if that's even something I could feel. Just echoes of emotion and feelings.'
The body continues speaking with the child in front of him, eventually even accepting playing hide and seek with her. After playing, she quickly pulls him along by the hand and guides him past two men—one painting, the other being painted. The artist briefly starts up a conversation with him, talking about him as well as speaking so much shit that his asshole was probably starting to get jealous, but he is promptly ignored by both of them.
"That painting doesn't look like Campbell, hahaha! Let's go, Corvo, follow me!"
The little girl innocently expresses her opinion, brutally insulting both men, making the painter grimace and turn away before she pulls the body—which we definitely know now is named Corvo—up the stairs.
'Corvo? Where have I heard that name before?'
After reaching the top of the stairs, Luke's mind is brought back into focus when hearing a disgusting, nasally voice that drills unfortunately into his poor ears, as well as another—one which he had just listened to maybe 20 minutes back.
This time, the woman's voice seems angry, as well as slightly distraught.
"We've gone past that, Your Majesty. They're—"
"THEY are my citizens, and we will save them from the plague if we can. All of them!"
"…Very well."
The man lowers his head, but Luke can see from this angle the angry frown cracking on his face.
"We will not speak of this again."
The two people turn around after hearing footsteps, turning to face him as well as the little girl, Emily, next to him.
The man—bald, with a long pointy nose—has a face that just screams pompous. That man is the spymaster. Despite having an extremely punchable face, he holds an important position.
The woman next to that quickly forgotten man has raven-black locks flowing down from her head like the night sky, styled neatly into a bun. Looking at her face gives Luke a serious migraine from the amount of emotions slamming into him. But objectively, she is a very beautiful woman with a regal sort of vibe to her, and with her being called Your Majesty… Luke suspects she is royalty of some sort.
"Mother, Corvo is back!" Emily vibrantly speaks out to her "mother", who smiles and beams directly at her.
'Oh? Guess she is this dude's wife or something?'
"Thank you, Emily."
Turning around to the bald spymaster, the Empress speaks in a commanding tone.
"Leave us, please."
"As you wish."
With a bow, the spymaster walks out of the gazebo -the building they were standing in- and as he passes Corvo, he speaks in a snobbish tone of voice.
"Corvo, two days earlier than intended, it seems. Full of surprises, as usual."
In response, Corvo just nods his head in both an answer and a dismissal of the spymaster, essentially just brushing him off while walking up to the Empress.
Behind Corvo's back, the spymaster gives him a nasty glare. But soon, as if thinking of something funny, he turns back around, a mocking grin stuck to his face, and walks off, bringing all the guards with him.
"It's a fair wind that brings you back to me. What news have you brought home?"
The Empress asks Corvo, a light smile gracing her face in a way that intensifies Luke's headache.
Corvo brings a letter out from a pocket hidden inside his uniform coat, handing it over to the Empress for her to read.
Opening the seal and reading the letter, a frown soon creases her face. Her mood turns more sombre and dejected.
"I had hoped that one of the other cities had dealt with this before, maybe knew of its cure. The news… it's very bad. We are at the breaking point."
She speaks while looking over the city in the distance, both in pity and part helplessness.
Walking over to the pillar supporting the gazebo, she slams her delicate hand into it, hard enough to bruise it.
"Cowards! They are going to block us. They'll wait and see if the plague turns the city into nothing but a graveyard."
The Empress turns around and looks to Corvo as she rubs her hands in pain, seeking Corvo's gaze in comfort.
Emily comes up to her with a troubled look on her face.
"Are you okay, Mother? You seem sad."
Looking down at the ground, Emily shows childish worry and confusion at the situation they find themselves in.
Placing a hand over her daughter's shoulder and rubbing it reassuringly, the Empress lets her know she is fine.
"Wait… where are the guards? Who sent them away?"
The Empress's expression darkens as a feeling of dread crawls up her spine.
"Mother, look! What are they doing on the rooftop?"
"What?! EMILY, COME HERE!!"
She shouts out in desperation as an assassin materialises before her in the blink of an eye, her tone rising in fear.
Corvo steps forward as if on duty, swiftly drawing a sword and what seems to be a flintlock-like pistol from its holster on his waist while getting ready for attack.
'Wait… this is starting to get familiar.'
Corvo shoots the first assassin that appears, causing it to disappear instantly into a cloud of smoke. Another one appears soon after as if to replace the first, swiftly swinging a sword down at him. It is blocked and deflected in one smooth motion, staggering the opponent backwards, setting Corvo up to stab them in the throat.
'Steampunk-like technology.'
Another assassin appears behind Corvo.
"Look out!!!" the Empress shouts out in warning to Corvo, letting him know of the impending danger.
'Magic-powered assassins.'
Corvo ducks as a sword swings where his head used to be, shoots his gun at his opponent's arm to make them drop the sword, then swings his blade upwards to split the assassin's throat. The dying body also disappears into nothing but smoke.
'Fuck….'
After everything is finished, Emily rushes into Corvo's arms, seeking his comfort like the Empress had minutes ago, the Empress herself following soon after.
"Corvo, thank you. If you hadn't been here—"
But she is interrupted as another assassin appears behind Corvo. A green, swirling energy appears on their arms that telekinetically holds Corvo in the air, trapping him with no escape.
"No, no more! Not again!"
Another assassin appears. This one has an even more dangerous energy about them, as if distorted and wrong. This one is dressed in a red coat, with no gas mask covering his face like the others. He reaches out to grab Emily, all the while Corvo struggles to get out of the assassin's grasp, only to continuously fail.
The Empress pushes the red-clad assassin away in defence of her daughter, and he quickly changes his target to the Empress.
With a slap, she is knocked away into a stone railing of the gazebo.
"Corvo!"
She shouts his name in despair as the assassin grabs her by the throat, then pierces his blade straight through her abdomen.
"MOMMY!!!"
Emily attempts to escape but is quickly caught by the same assassin who has Corvo trapped in his magic ability.
She struggles, but it's all for nought as the assassin teleports away, Emily in hand, the Empress dead at their feet.
The red assassin leaves moments later after staring at Corvo's face with a recognised light in his eyes and a blank look plastered on his face.
Corvo is dropped to the ground, hitting his head in the process, but he quickly crawls his way to the Empress's body, despite his bleeding forehead covering his eyes in blood, just to hold her rapidly cooling body that seems to be draining of life itself, getting covered in her blood in the process.
"Corvo… it's all coming apart. Find Emily. Protect her. You're the only one. You'll know what to do. Won't you?"
She speaks in a quiet voice, her words fading with her final breaths, though becoming firmer when mentioning her daughter.
She brings her hands to his face, wiping the blood from his cheeks and staring deeply into his eyes with a look of undying love.
"Corvo—…"
She mournfully whispers his name as her last breath fully leaves her, falling into the embrace of death as her eyes close, her body going limp in his arms.
'This is Dishonoured 1, isn't it?'
A legion of negative thoughts threatens to consume Luke's mind, smashing across his head and briefly stunning his consciousness in place.
He is brought out of it quickly, though, as Corvo's body moves, getting battle-ready in the presence of multiple people suddenly surrounding him.
Ten guards, as well as the spymaster, appear with Campbell at his side.
"Ward us all, look at what he's done."
Campbell states with a dramatic flair in his voice, whose acting skills are about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
"Yes, he killed the Empress."
The spymaster also helpfully adds, as the guards hold him at both gunpoint and swordpoint.
The two continue their fake dramatics to justify their actions until they finally give the guards an order, which they eagerly follow.
"I'll see you beheaded for this, Corvo! TAKE HIM!!"
And with that, a blow hits Corvo's concussed head, knocking him unconscious instantly…
—
Unknown to the unconscious Luke, however, is a floating holographic screen manifesting before his closed eyes.
Congratulations on making it through the tutorial, host.
As a starting bonus for the start of a new game, three abilities that the character you have become, "Corvo Attano", has acquired throughout his life will be gifted to you in their basic form.
The skills are the following:
[Sword mastery (basic) – gives you a basic understanding of swords and the instincts for the usage of all their types. Grants the ability to make your sword strikes faster and flow more smoothly.]
[Firearm mastery (basic) – gives you a basic understanding and the instinct for the usage of ranged weapons. Grants the ability to aim with better precision than the average man.]
[Stealth mastery (basic) – gives you a basic understanding of stealth and instincts to use stealthy techniques. Grants you the ability to be naturally light-footed {will be impaired in noisy footwear}.]
Good luck on your play-through!
…
Word count: 3,325
EDITED