© 2016 Ramon Mejia

All Rights Reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter 1.1

Chapter 1.2

Chapter 1.3

Chapter 1.4

Chapter 1.5

Interlude 1

Chapter 2.1

Chapter 2.2

Chapter 2.3

Chapter 2.4

Chapter 2.5

Chapter 2.6

Chapter 2.7

Chapter 2.8

Chapter 3.1

Chapter 3.2

Chapter 3.3

Chapter 3.4

Chapter 3.5

Chapter 3.6

Chapter 3.7

Chapter 4.1

Chapter 4.2

Chapter 4.3

Chapter 4.4

Chapter 4.5

Chapter 4.6

Chapter 4.7

Interlude 2

Chapter 5.1

Chapter 5.2

Chapter 5.3

Chapter 5.4

Chapter 5.5

Chapter 6.1

Chapter 6.2

Chapter 6.3

Chapter 6.4

Chapter 6.5

Chapter 6.6

Interlude 3

Chapter 7.1

Chapter 7.2

Chapter 7.3

Chapter 7.4

Chapter 7.5

Chapter 7.6

Chapter 7.7

Chapter 7.8

Chapter 7.9

Chapter 7.10

Chapter 7.11

Chapter 7.12

Chapter 8.1

Chapter 8.2

Chapter 8.3

Chapter 8.4

Chapter 8.5

Chapter 8.6

Chapter 8.7

Chapter 9.1

Chapter 9.2

Chapter 9.3

Chapter 9.4

Chapter 10.1

Chapter 10.2

Chapter 10.3

From the Author

Dedication

For my beautiful, patient wife. Without her encouragement and willingness to edit in exchange for foot massages, this story would never have been written.

Prologue

A lightly glowing circle illuminates a darkened room. Within it sits a man with hands so black that they seem to be made from shadow. The features of his face and body are hidden by a long dark cloak and hood. His body moves so little, it would be easy to mistake his meditation for sleep.

He is instead hyper-aware of everything happening around him. From the water dripping from the ceiling to the smell of the mold growing in the corner. He feels every movement of air on his skin and hears the small rodents crawling behind the walls.

Yet he pushes aside all that sensory information. Instead, he delves deep into his own mind to connect to a place beyond the physical realm. A place of spirit and thought. He connects and travels to a pre-appointed place. There he sees four figures, kneeling. Each of the kneeling figures is similarly dressed, concealing their faces with hoods and cloaks. Only their hands are visible. One has hands the color of shining burnished gold. Another’s hands are as blue and cool as the deepest oceans. The third person’s hands are deep forest green and smells faintly of the earth and growing things. The fourth’s hands are so white they radiate light. The man with the black hands sneers when he sees the one with the white hands. He has had dealings with that one before and does not care for the weakness he saw there.

He pulls his hood tighter and takes his place next to them and kneels. All around him, he can feel the spirits of ancient and powerful creatures. They exist just outside his physical perception, roaming like giant hunting lions. Though they hold no solid form, he feels their power and hunger. He knows, in this place of their power, they rule.

A deep and terrible voice that reverberates like thunder says “You have finally arrived. We will begin then.”

Another voice, also powerful but feminine, says, “We have felt a stirring in the waking world. Something has appeared that causes ripples of change like a stone being dropped in a still pond. We can feel the changes even though we do not know the exact cause.”

A third voice, one that sounds like the wind blowing through the forest canopy, adds, “The oldest of the gods has brought an agent of change and chaos into the world. While we don’t know his or her identity, many ancient powers have felt the stirrings of possibility within this one.”

The first deep voice commands, “This agent is something new and may be the key to our awakening. Find him and turn him to our cause.”

“We hear and obey.” The five kneeling figures say in unison.

The presence of each of the giant spirits fades away. Then one by one, each of the kneeling figures fades away. Their minds and spirits return to the physical realm until only the man with the black hands remains.

An oppressive presence returns to the space and a sinister voice speaks. “You have remained. Good.”

“I live to serve, mighty one.”

The very air in the mind-space seems to vibrate and a rumbling evil laugh can be felt by the kneeling man. “Ha! You live to serve only yourself. Though you may fool the others with your act of servitude, do not think that I am fooled. That is why I chose you as my agent. You thirst for power like a man dying in the desert thirsts for water.”

The kneeling man says nothing. He knows the depths he is willing to delve to satisfy his own cravings.

“Good. You do know your place. I want you to follow the orders of the others. Find the agent of change loose in the world. Only, bring him to me and not the others. I have different plans for the agent.”

“What if he does not want to come willingly? Or if he refuses to serve? Or he has already been found by one of the other powers?”

“Persuade him to come by any means necessary.” A tendril of dark power wraps around the kneeling man sending arcs of painful energy into him. He collapses onto the floor wracked with pain. “If he is found by another power before you get to him I will be greatly displeased.”

The dark tendrils withdraw from the man and he lies motionless on the floor. Slowly he returns to the kneeling position. “I live to serve.”

“I know your predilections, servant. While you may not kill the agent of change, you may kill any who come between you and him. Let that motivate you to move quickly.”

The added order causes dark stirrings in the kneeling figure but he does not let them show. Instead, he only repeats, “I live to serve, Great One.”

The dark presence fades like the others, leaving the kneeling man alone. Then the kneeling man also fades from the place of mind and spirit, and returns to his own body.

The cold air of the dark stone room feels cool against his skin. The man moves. A wide psychotic smile appears on the man’s face. He always likes the assignments where he gets to kill people.

Chapter 1.1

Sunlight pierces the lids of my eyes, disturbing my pleasant dreams. I groggily roll over in an attempt to escape the light but no matter what position I shift to, the annoyingly persistent light refuses to let me fall back to sleep.

Deciding it’s a hopeless endeavor to try go back to sleep, I open my eyes. Then, immediately close them.

There’s no way I saw what I think I saw. Why would there be a tree in my room?

I blindly feel around for a blanket or bed to confirm that I’m still in my room. Unfortunately, my hands only feel the dirt, rocks, and leaves. The evidence is mounting that I am not in my small one bedroom apartment. Mustering up the courage to face a weird reality, I open my eyes and see a forest canopy above me. Still on my back, I look left and right to confirm I’m not just looking at some poster pinned to the ceiling.

Nope. The leaves move in the peculiar way leaves do when the wind blows. Speaking of the wind. As it blows, I feel a natural ‘shrinkage’ from my lower anatomy that tells me I’m naked. My hands instinctively move to protect my manhood from the chill breeze.

As I wonder where all my clothes have gone, a soft feminine voice whispers near my ear, “Morning sleepy head. Welcome to Terra.”

The sound of another person so close to me sends a jolt of adrenaline through my body and I sit up, frantically looking for the person that spoke. While thoughts of drunk dialing former crushes pass through my mind, I hear a light hearted giggling.

I hear a tone of pity as the voice says, “Up here, Armon.”

Now, having a clear direction to reference, I look up and see the most fantastic sight. There, hovering about three feet above my head is a woman, no bigger than my hand, with jet black hair, and smooth alabaster skin. This tiny woman flies through the air with four translucent wings and is wearing a dress that seems to be made out of leaves.

I’ve never been the most eloquent of speakers, especially when talking to women. So it’s not really a surprise when seeing the small beautiful flying woman, all I could think of to say was, “What the hell?!?”

The young woman with wings smiles, puts her hands on her hips, and she patiently repeats herself. “I said ‘Welcome to Terra’. Or are you deaf?”

Still confused as to who or what I’m talking to, I answer, “Huh, no. I’m not deaf.”

Then, realizing that maybe this person can give me some information, I ask, “Where am I?”

The young woman, being sarcastic by nature, can’t help but respond, “I just told you. Terra. Remember the ‘Welcome to Terra’ part?”

The young flying woman, agitated now that her client seemed to be dumb as a rock, starts to zip around.

I’m becoming annoyed myself at the lack of information coming from the only person I can see and ask, “Where the hell is Terra? What are you and how do you know my name?”

Her patience exhausted, she flies right up to my face and replies in a huffy tone, “I am not a thing. I am Mary and I am your fairy guide.”

A fairy? A real fairy? I can’t seem to wrap my head around that fact that I’m actually speaking to a creature of myth and legend. I pinch myself trying to wake from the dream I’m sure I’m still in. Yet nothing happens. I don’t wake up.

Noting the incredulous expression on my face, Mary sighs. “I know you no longer have fairies where you come from, but if you’ll let me get on with my introduction speech, maybe I can answer some of the questions you must have.”

Not having a better idea of what to do next, I nod in assent.

Mary clears her throat and begins her introduction speech. “As I was saying. Welcome to Terra. I’m Mary, your fairy guide. You’ve officially died and been transported here to have a second chance at life.”

“Wait! I died?” I interrupt.

“Yup. You’re the first person from your world to be reincarnated here too. The great Overlord God decided that you’d fit in well on Terra and brought you here after you died.”

“How the hell did I die?” I ask.

Mary’s eyes take on a far off look. As if she is looking at something I can’t see and responds, “Hmmmm. From your file, it seems you died from a heart attack after a 72-hour marathon gaming session. You really should have taken better care of yourself.”

I sit in stunned silence, trying to absorb the fact that I died, and was reincarnated.

Like most people that die suddenly, I lament my unfulfilled life. I died. That means I’ll never finish college, never become a contestant on The Price is Right, and never become a world class dancer. Not that I knew how to dance, but now I’ll never learn. Dammit, I never even got to ask out that hot girl Jenny from art class. I’d been waiting all semester for the perfect moment, too.

Seeing my dejected look, Mary decides to try and cheer me up with some information about Terra. “You really did luck out on which world you reincarnated to. Based on your file, Terra is the perfect world for you. Its creation is, in part, based on the video games you seemed to have enjoyed so much.”

Mary’s statement brings me back to the present. “What do you mean, ‘based on the video games’ I enjoyed?”

“Hmmm. The best way to explain is probably to show you. Think in your mind or say out loud if it helps, ‘Status’. Go on, try it,” she suggests.

Feeling a bit silly, I do as she suggests and shout “STATUS.” To my utter surprise, a blue window appears in front of me.

Name: Armon Ellington

Age: 19

Level: 1

Class: none

Titles: none

Exp to next lvl.: 100

Health: 15

Stamina: 20

Mana: 20

Strength: 10

Dexterity: 10

Constitution: 10

Intelligence: 10

Wisdom: 10

Charisma: 10

Attack: 1 - 1

Defense: 0

Skills: none

Abilities: none

Spells: none

She’s right. This is a status screen. Just like the ones I’ve seen in the role-playing video games I love. Maybe this isn’t such a bad thing after all. Sure, I never got to ask out Jenny, but I never got a status screen in my old world. I’m sure there are plenty of lovely ladies in this world too.

Looking at the status screen, I see my name and age. Level 1. No class? That’s what my ex-girlfriend said when she dumped me, so no surprise there. I have 10 for all my stats. Guess that’s average. Thinking about the variety of different video games I’ve played over the years, I wonder what each stat does here.

“Mary, what does each of the stats I see on my [status] page mean?” I ask.

“Oh, well strength affects how hard you hit and how much you can carry. Dexterity determines how quick you are and how accurately you hit things when you aim. Constitution determines your health. Intelligence determines your mana and how powerful your spells are. Wisdom affects how quickly your mana recovers and how resistant you are to some spells. Charisma determines how likable you are,” she answers.

Ok. My gamer brain immediately thinks of all the gaming strategies possible with character stats like this. I usually min/max my stats when I play games but that’s when it’s a game. If I want to survive here, I’ll have to think of a better strategy than maximizing a single stat for the largest bonus.

Looking back at my [Status] screen I see that my attack is one. I wonder how that’s calculated. Something to figure out later. Defense is zero. That’s probably because I’m naked. “Umm, Mary? Where are my clothes?”

“In your inventory, silly. You get a few items to help you get started as a part of your ‘starter reincarnation package’. Your clothes are there.”

“How do I use my inventory?” I inquire.

“You can usually access any part of the system menu by saying it out loud or thinking the command. Try silently thinking ‘Inventory’,” Mary instructs.

I do as she suggests and think ‘Inventory’ in my mind. Another blue screen appears next to my status screen. This one has a series of boxes and some symbols at the very bottom. One of the boxes has something in it. When I focus on that box a small window pops up.

Starter Shirt

Defense: 1

A basic shirt that offers minimal protection. At least it's better than being naked.

Oh. That’s neat. I get more information when I focus on something in the blue screens. I wonder how I put that shirt on. Hmm, maybe I’ll try thinking [Equip Starter Shirt].

It works. Suddenly I’m wearing a shirt. It’s basic homespun wool. A little itchy but that screen is right, it’s better than being naked.  I focus on the other boxes that seem to have items in the inventory screen.

Starter Pants

Defense: 1

Basic pants that offer minimal protection. At least it's better than being naked.

Definitely need those. Can’t have the boys swaying in the wind. [Equip Starter Pants].

Like the shirt, the pants just appear on my body. Again, basic homespun wool. The itching might be more annoying down there but beggars can’t be choosers. Only two other items in the inventory. One is food and the other water.

Stale Bread Loaf (5)

A stale loaf of bread. When eaten, increases regeneration of health and stamina by 5% over 30 minutes.

Water Skin (5)

A skin of water. When drunk, increases mana regeneration by 5% over 30 minutes.

Health and mana regeneration when I eat or drink? That’s pretty standard in most Role Playing Games. That’ll be useful if I get hurt. Health I get. It measures how hurt or healthy I am. What about stamina and mana? “Mary, what affects stamina and mana?”

“Use of abilities and some skills use up stamina. Spells use up mana,” she answers.

Huh, skill, abilities, and spells? I check my status screen and find none of those. “Mary, I don’t have any of those.”

“Of course not. You’re only level 1 and just reincarnated. Abilities are either gained from your class or ability books dropped by monsters on very rare occasions. You can learn skills by either practicing something repeatedly or receiving training from someone that has that skill. Spells are gained from either trainers or spell books.”

Hmm. I don’t have any skill or spell books. Nor do I have a class. “You said I can gain skills by practicing them?”

“Yup, if you run a lot then you get the [Run] skill. Want the [Unarmed Combat] skill? Hit things with your bare hands. However, unless you already understand the intricacies of metal working you’re not going to gain [Blacksmithing] unless you train with a blacksmith. Also, abilities, skills, and spells all gain experience the more you use them. Skills begin at novice level then grow to beginner level, intermediate level, advanced level, expert level, and finally master level. So, the more you practice the better you get.”

Well, at least I can gain some skills on my own. Though it would have been great to have some overpowered spell or ability right from the start. I close all the blue boxes in front of me for now. Well, time to start gaining skills.

Chapter 1.2

“Now the fastest way to become more powerful is to advance your level and skills. You gain experience by defeating opponents or completing quests. You can also use quests as an opportunity to practice your skills and abilities, leveling them too,” Mary lectures. “So let's get you your first quest!”

A blue notification box appears before me.

Make Dinner

Mary is hungry. Create a comfortable location to eat, and prepare dinner for Mary.

Rewards: Base 10XP. Bonus XP based on the quality of meal and location prepared to eat.

Accept or Decline?

I think [Accept Quest ‘Make Dinner’] and the window disappears.  “Hmm, ‘Make Dinner,’ huh? Somehow, I thought my first quest would be something along the lines of ‘Kill 10 Rats and bring me their tails.’”

Mary screws her face up in disgust. “Ewwwww. What would anyone do with rat tails? That’s just gross. I’d much rather have a nice meal. Preferably not rat, by the way.”

“Ok. Ok. Make a meal. No rat. Got it. I don’t suppose there’s a supermarket nearby?”

Mary shakes her head no.

Oh well, didn’t think it would be that easy. Mom taught all her kids how to cook but we always used ingredients from the store. Guess I’ll have to get back to basics to get this quest done. A simple meal of roasted meat and salad seems like it shouldn’t be too hard. I look around at the forest and realize I have absolutely no idea what plants are edible. I would probably fail my quest if I poison Mary. I sit and try to think of a way to figure out how to tell which plants to eat. As I sit, I hear a faint rustling sound. I quickly turn my head to see what is making the noise and see a small, white, furry animal. It’s a rabbit. It’s much larger than the rabbits I’ve seen before and it has a horn sticking out of its forehead. As I focus on the weird looking animal, a new window appears above the rabbit's head.

Horned Rabbit

Level 1

Well, that’s useful. At least I can tell what it is now and if it’s stronger than me. As I watch the horned rabbit I see it move to a bush and start nibbling. Of course! That’s how I can tell which plants to eat. Watch the local wildlife. Guess that’s how I’ll have to get the meat for my meal, too. “Mary, are there many animals around here?”

“Yup, this is kind of a beginner area. You’ll find all kinds of animals including some predators and monsters too, so be careful. You only get one life here. No respawns.”

As soon as I started talking to Mary the horned rabbit ran off. The bush I saw it eat is small and has broad green leaves. That’ll do for part of the salad but I get extra XP based on the quality of the meal I make. So, I want to see what other plants can be eaten around here. I get up, dust off my pants and begin my search for another horned rabbit to watch.

Moving through the forest I catch glimpses of white blurs running from me. The last horned rabbit I saw ran away as soon as it heard me talking to Mary. Guess I’m making too much noise. I’m snapping twigs and rustling leaves with every step. That won’t do. I’ll never find another horned rabbit that way.

I start to deliberately watch where I step and move carefully to avoid small twigs and leaves on the ground. That’s better but I still hear my steps. I remember seeing a movie about ninjas and how they walk toe to heel and not heel to toe. I try it and notice that I make less noise. Guess those ninjas know what they’re doing. I move a lot slower now that I’m trying to be quiet.  It’s frustrating, but it can’t be helped since it’s the only way I’ll ever get close to another horned rabbit.

I’m on my second hour of moving quietly through the forest when I see a horned rabbit again. I freeze the moment I see it. I don’t want to scare it off and have to look for another one. The horned rabbit doesn’t seem to notice me, and I watch to see what it does. The critter hops around the little clearing, nibbling on several plants including a bush with bright red berries. I take mental note of the shape of the bush, its leaves, and the berries to use in my salad later. As the rabbit moves out of the clearing, I move to follow it as quietly as I can.  Suddenly a window pops up.

You've learned the skill [Sneak].

I mentally ‘Woooohoo’. My very first skill. Thank you movie ninjas.

I focus on [Sneak] to get more information.

Sneak

You are more difficult to notice while sneaking. Movement speed is reduced while sneaking. Advancing in Sneak reduces movement penalty and the chances of others noticing you.

Level: Novice 1 (1%)

Bonus: 20% reduced chance of being noticed. Movement speed is reduced by 75%.

So, the more I practice sneaking the better bonuses I’ll get as I level. Something to work towards I guess.

I continue to follow the horned rabbit for another hour, watching its patterns until it disappears into a hole in the ground. As I watch the horned rabbit, I get new notices.

You've gained a level in [Sneak]. Novice 2.

You've learned [Observe].

I check to see what changes happens to [Sneak] when it levels up, and what [Observe] does.

Sneak

You are more difficult to notice while sneaking. Movement speed is reduced while sneaking. Advancing in sneak reduces movement penalty and the chances of others noticing you.

Level: Novice 2 (15%)

Bonus: 21% reduced chance of being noticed. Movement speed is reduced by 74%.

Observe

You learn the weaknesses and strengths of a creature when you observe them for long periods of time. You gain a bonus to damage when fighting creatures you've observed. Advancing in Observe increases damage bonus to observed creatures.

Level: Novice 1 (1%)

Bonus: 1% damage bonus to creatures observed.

Creatures Observed: Horned Rabbit

I get 1% sneakier per level of [Sneak]. I wonder if the bonuses change when I get to beginner or intermediate. We’ll have to wait and see. However, I receive a nice a bonus to damage from [Observe]. That’ll be useful. Every bit of extra damage helps in a fight. Too bad I have to watch something for a ‘long period of time’ to get the bonus. It’ll only be useful when I have time to watch an opponent for a while and I won’t have time to get the [Observe] bonus in a surprise fight.

As I walk away from the rabbit hole I decide to start collecting the plants for the salad part of the meal quest. I rush over to the where I saw the berries and realize I’m wasting an opportunity to train. Why walk like normal when I can [Sneak] while I collect plants. It takes two hours to collect enough of the plants to make a salad for two. By the time I return to Mary, my [Sneak] skill has leveled up to Novice 3.

Time to get the meat.

Chapter 1.3

Well, time to go get some meat for dinner. I decide that Horned Rabbit is my best choice since I get the [Observe] damage bonus. I put on my best Elmer Fudd impression and say, “Be vewy vewy qwiet. I'm hunting wabbits.”

“Why are you talking weird? Of course you’ll need to be quiet if you plan to hunt horned rabbits. Otherwise, they’ll hear you coming,” Mary responds, deadpan.

Guess she’s not a fan of classic cartoons. “Never mind Mary, I’m off to get the rest of dinner.”  Mary waves bye and says “Ok, have fun. It will look bad on my record if you kick the bucket this soon. So, try not to die.”

As I walk away from Mary, I try to think of ways to fight a horned rabbit. I’ve never had to hunt for dinner before. It can’t be that hard, can it? It’s level 1, just like me. I slow down and activate [Sneak]. As I approach a group of bushes with the berries, I see one horned rabbit eating at the bushes. I grab a large rock and rush forward, hoping to overwhelm it quickly. The horned rabbit turns once it hears me, its horn glowing. Instead of running like I expect, it lowers its horn and charges. I feel a piercing pain in my side. I look down and see a horned rabbit sticking out of my side, its little rabbit feet pawing at me, trying to pull free.

Damage received: 8

Oh crap, guess that horn isn’t there for decoration. I grab the rabbit's horn so he can’t get away and repeatedly hit it with the rock in my hand. Soon the rabbit stops moving and disappears in a flash of light. Instead of a body, there are some items on the ground by my feet.

I don’t have time to look at them right now because my side hurts like hell. I check my [Status] and see I only have seven health left and a bleeding effect that makes me lose one health per second. I rip off part of my shirt and press it against my side to stop the bleeding. I quickly take out and eat the bread in my inventory. It’s hard and tasteless, but my health begins to restore slowly and the pain lessens. That rabbit was tougher than he looked. He almost killed me with one hit. Guess that’s fair. After all I did kill him.

I saw the body disappear and items replace it. What did he drop when he died? There are two items on the ground. I pick up each and focus on them.

Horn

The horn from an innocent horned rabbit.

Rabbit Meat

1 serving of rabbit meat.

I need another horned rabbit to get all the ingredients for this meal but I sure don’t have the health to take on another one with a frontal attack. I finish another stale loaf of bread to restore the health and stamina I lost during the fight. It’ll take an hour to get back up to full strength. While I wait I put the rabbit meat into my inventory and try to think of a better way to fight.

First, using that rock sucked. It took way too long to defeat that horned devil. What if he’d gotten loose? I need a better weapon. I know firsthand how sharp that horn is. It would make a good knife but if I’m that close it can get me too. Hmmm, how about a spear. Same piercing power and a longer reach. If it gets too close I can always back away or drop the spear and use my fists.

How to make a spear though? I remember seeing those survival shows on TV. Survivorguy did it a couple of times. Let’s see, first I need a straight tree or branch about shoulder height. I look around for suitable material. There. A fallen tree with branches about the size I need. I repeatedly kick a branch until it breaks off, then strip the smaller branches and leaves attached to it. It’s a little crooked, but good enough. What next? Oh, I need to make a place to attach the horn. I take a hand-sized rock from the ground and bash it against another rock until it splits in half, leaving a sharp edge. I use the sharp edge of the rock to trim the branch to about shoulder height and split one end a bit without breaking the branch too much. I slide the horn into the split, but it’s a little loose. I need something to tighten up the horn at the end of the branch. Darn it, there goes the rest of my shirt. I tear up what’s left of my shirt into strips. I wrap some around the end of the split branch that has the loose horn and it tightens up nicely. I still have some leftover strips and put them into my inventory in case I need to bandage another injury later.

Craftsmanship

Though not formally trained in any crafting skill, you've used your ingenuity to create something. You receive an increased chance of success at creating a new item.

Level: Novice 1 (1%)

Bonus: Increase chance at creating new item by 1%.

You've created the item [Improvised Spear].

Improvised Spear

Damage: 3 - 5

Durability: 10/10

A sharp spear created using materials at hand. While not professionally made it will do in a pinch. Just don't expect too much from it.

Sweet. Crafting. I’m a crafty crafter. Damage isn’t bad on the spear. I swing the spear around a few times and stab the air. Definitely better than a rock. Raising my improvised spear high above my head I declare, “I shall name you my horny spear.” I only feel a little silly since no one's around to hear me.

As I check my status screen, I notice I’m still a little sore but my health and stamina are back to maximum. Time to find another horned rabbit.

Chapter 1.4

I use [Sneak] to quietly move to places I’ve seen a horned rabbit before and soon spot another one. This horned rabbit is digging in the ground at some type of root. Perfect. He’s distracted. No trying to rush him this time. That didn’t work last time. With the greatest of care, I move silently behind the rabbit. Just a few more steps to get in range. Now!

I thrust my improvised spear as hard and fast as I can, piercing the horned rabbit in back.

Damage dealt: 8 (sneak attack)

It squeals in fury and turns towards me. Oops. I’d hoped my sneak attack would finish it. I jump back, pointing the spear at the rabbit, ready for its attack. I see a red glow envelop the horn of the rabbit and feel a small sense of dread. Shit, its [Charge] attack! I desperately dive to the right hoping to avoid the dangerous attack. Unfortunately, I’m not entirely successful and feel a burning pain along my side as I hit the ground.

Damage received: 7

Getting back to my feet I see my left side bleeding from a small wound. Luckily, I didn’t take the full force of the [Charge] attack. Seven damage from just a glancing blow? I don’t think I can take that attack head-on and survive. Looking around I see the horned rabbit running at me again. Its horn isn’t glowing this time but this guy is still dangerous. I stab forward with my spear but the rabbit dodges. He’s quick too. I barely sidestep as the rabbit stabs where my left leg was a moment ago. I kick the rabbit hard, trying to create some distance between us.

Damage dealt: 1

I only caused one point of damage? We’ll I’m not kicking this guy to death. Instead of hurting the horned rabbit, it just looks angry. Suddenly an idea occurs to me and I smile. I know just how to beat this horned furry devil. I can’t beat this guy head-on, but if I use his own power against him, I have a chance.

While trying to get in position for my brilliant plan, I take six more damage from another of the rabbit’s attacks. I grit my teeth against the intense pain and ignore the red haze at the edge of my vision. I put my back to the largest tree I can see, I plant my feet shoulder length apart and point my spear at my furry foe. I growl at the creature and yell, “Come and get me you unicorn turd.”

I see an evil glint in the rabbit’s eyes and his buck teeth take on a sharpened appearance. A powerful red glow envelops the rabbit’s horn telling me he’s powering up his [Charge] attack. I focus on the rabbit's feet for the earliest signal as to when he’ll attack. The instant I see the rabbit’s feet move I dive as hard as I can to my right. I feel a powerful gust of air as the [Charge] attack is unleashed and the rabbit blurs through the space I just occupied. Unable to slow himself down, the horned menace slams into the tree behind me. Picking myself off the ground, I take up my fallen spear. I see the rabbit trying desperately to pull his horn out of the bark of the tree and smile. My plan worked. It’ll only take the creature another minute to free himself but that’s all the time I need. I walk behind the rabbit, grip my spear with both hands and stab repeatedly.

Damage dealt: 3

Damage dealt: 4

Damage dealt: 5

You've killed a level 3 Horned Rabbit. You receive 15 XP.

You’ve gained the [Spear Mastery] skill.

Level 3 horned rabbit? No wonder he was so hard to kill. Guess I should have checked his level before I attacked. There is a flash of light and the body disappears leaving two items behind.

Lucky Rabbit’s Foot

The foot from a horned rabbit. It’s supposed to be lucky. Just not for the rabbit.

Bonus: Critical hit chance increased by 1%.

Rabbit Meat

1 serving of rabbit meat.

Nice. I finally have the meat I need for the ‘dinner quest’. What’s the [Spear Mastery] skill?

Spear Mastery

You've learned to wield the spear. This weapon takes both strength and dexterity to use. When you wield a spear you will gain a bonus to damage. At higher levels, you will gain additional bonuses.

Level: Novice 1 (1%)

Bonus: 1% bonus to damage when using a spear.

That bonus damage will be useful since I have to hunt for all my food. I head back to the clearing to prepare a meal for Mary and finish the quest she gave me.

Mary flies down from a tree she was resting in and greets me as I walk into the clearing. “Welcome back, brave hunter. Glad you didn’t die fighting those helpless rabbits. Though I have to ask, why are you shirtless?” Blushing slightly, Mary adds, “Not that it doesn’t kind of work for you.”

Facing Mary, I run one hand through my hair, a bit embarrassed. “Yeah, I might have tried to take on a horned rabbit a couple levels above me. I had to tear up my shirt for bandages and to make this great horny spear.” I smile and proudly present my spear to her.

As Mary flies closer to me, I see her slap her head at my stupidity. She looks me in the eye, raises a single finger and says, “One, it was silly to try and fight something at a higher level. You’re lucky it didn’t skewer you.” Raising a second finger, she smiles and adds in a giggle, “Second, a ‘horny spear’? Did it try to hit on you or something?”

I just smile and roll my eyes at her. She’s just jealous of my amazing crafting skills. I turn away as Mary laughs at her own joke.  I hear Mary’s stomach growl and decide I should get started on that meal.

Chapter 1.5

The sun is setting as I gather materials for a fire. I pick up some rocks and place them in a circle. I grab some twigs and small dead branches from the ground to use as kindling. I break some of the larger branches I see into smaller pieces to use as firewood.

Now how did Survivorguy do this? I make a firebow using some of the thinner branches and a large piece of wood. I place some kindling on the wood and begin spinning the firebow. Nothing happens at first, so I continue to spin the firebow until a small amount of smoke forms from the kindling. I’m surprised it’s working and stop moving the firebow. The smoke stops of course. Ok, move the firebow faster. I spin the firebow faster and faster creating more friction. I keep at it for what seems like forever. My arms start burning from the effort but smoke starts to rise from the kindling and a small flame forms.

“Ugh, me make fire,” I grunt, doing my best caveman impression. Mary just smiles and rolls her eyes while watching what I do next.

I receive a notice but ignore it for now. I move the small flame to the pile of kindling in the stone pit. The flame increases. I add more twigs and eventually branches until I have a good roaring fire. With the fire going I look at the notices I received.

You’ve learned the skill [Firestarter]

By starting a campfire you’ve established a [Camp]. Bonus to health, stamina, and mana regeneration while in camp. Current bonus: 5%.

Sweet. I get a bonus from building a camp. Wonder if better camps give better bonuses? Something to experiment with later. Let’s finish up this quest. I’m hungry.

Night falls as I spit the two portions of rabbit meat on some branches and arrange some wood so the meat hangs above the fire without actually touching the flames. I can already see the meat browning and smell the delicious aroma. While the meat cooks I arrange the vegetables for the salad. I realize I don’t have any plates or utensils and decide to use the larger leaves as a sort of plate for everything else. I put the berries around the edge of my leaf plate forming a berry circle. After turning the meat over to cook both sides, I take it off the spit. The meat has a nice caramelization on the outside and only a bit of char. The smell makes my mouth water and I see Mary follow the meat with large hungry eyes.  As soon as I place the meat in the middle of the berry circle I get a couple notifications that I ignore since the smell of the food is making my stomach growl. Mary looks at the food like she hasn’t eaten in days.

“Let’s dig in,” I tell her. We both eat the hot meat gingerly with our hands. I break up the meat into smaller pieces so she can grasp them with her tiny fairy fingers. “This is soo good,” Mary says through a mouth full of food. She’s right. The meat is crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The salad and berries add some texture and fruitiness to the meal.

Even though Mary has to take each small piece of meat and berry with both hands to eat, she still finishes her part of the meal before me. Where does she put all that?

Once my stomach is full, I take a moment to look at my notifications.

You've learned the skill [Cooking].

You've made [Fire Roasted Meat and Salad].

Fire Roasted Meat and Salad

A well-made meal of fire roasted meat and locally grown vegetables. When eaten, gain 10% increased health and stamina regeneration over 30 minutes.

You've completed the quest 'Make Dinner'. You receive 10 XP plus a bonus 5 XP for the quality of the meal.

I’m happy to see I got extra experience points. That means Mary liked the food. Wondering what bonuses I get from my new skills I bring up their descriptions.

Cooking

You can cook nutritious and delicious meals. Learn new recipes from experimentation, cookbooks, or from other cooks. Your meals may give a variety of bonuses once consumed.

Level: Novice 1 (1%)

Bonus: 10% less likely to burn or ruin a meal.

Firestarter

You are skilled in starting fires. You require less fuel and time to start a fire than others.

Level: Novice 1 (1%)

Bonus: 10 % less time and fuel required to start a fire.

Well, those are nice bonuses for things I’ll have to do anyway. Mary flies nearby and sits back on a log with a full stomach. “That was a good meal. I sure like giving that quest out,” she says with a grin on her face. “You survived your first day and finished your first quest. Good work. Time for me to count some fairy sheep. I’ll see you in the morning.” Saying this, Mary flies off into a nearby tree and disappears.

I wish Mary a good night and decide to relax by the fire after such a busy day. Putting my hands up to the fire, I enjoy the warmth of the crackling flames. As I sit, I listen to the sounds of the forest on this clear cool night. I hear the wind rustling through the leaves and the small animals moving at night looking for food. I think about all the things that happened today and am kind of amazed. I made a spear with my own two hands and fought a ferocious horned rabbit that almost killed me. I also gained some nice skills for working hard and thinking on my feet to solve some problems. Maybe this world is a good chance at a new beginning for me.  I enjoy the fire for a while longer before I gather some leaves for an impromptu bed. As I lay next to the fire and drift off to sleep I can’t help but wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Interlude 1

A deep and terribly ancient voice speaks into the darkness, “Our mystics have found the continent where the agent of change was placed by the Overlord God. It’s only a matter of time before we have him.”

Another voice, almost the sound of the wind, responds, “I do not doubt that we will eventually find him. However, will we be the first? For the first time in eons, the Overlord God has participated in the game. We must get this piece on our side. Do the other gods or one of the other powers know of the agent of change?”

“There are whispers among the powerful that something has changed in the world but they have yet to realize what exactly,” whispers a sensuous and distinctly female voice.

“Good. Even among our kind, there is disagreement as to what to do with this agent. Some wish to use him for their own benefit and not for the people,” the ancient voice states.

The voice that sounds like the wind, assures the others, “Do not worry. We have the advantage right now. It’s only a matter of time before he’s in our grasp.”

Chapter 2.1

I yawn loudly as I wake up. Man, my neck and back are stiff. The ground does not give good lumbar support.

“Morning sleepy head.” Mary greets me. “I’ve gathered some berries for breakfast. Figured you’d be hungry after all that hunting you did yesterday.”

The berries taste pretty good. “Thanks Mary. So, what’s on the agenda for today? Anything else you’re teaching me or new quests?”

“I’m just here to answer your questions and help you learn the basics. I’m not your nursemaid.”

Ok. “Guess I’ll work on raising my skills. Any tips on what skills I should work on?”

“Hmmm. Honestly, I’m more worried about your stats than your skills. By the time most people are your age in this world, they’re already about level 5 and have a job or class. Their stats are much higher if they're adventurers. If you’re a regular person you're ok with average stats but if you plan to keep fighting monsters you’ll need to increase them.”

Average stats? Who wants to be average? “How do I increase my stats?”

“Well, one way is from leveling. You gain free stat points when you level that you use to increase any attribute you have.  Another way is by training your body. Naturally, if you lift heavy things you’ll increase strength. Run or sprint and you’ll increase constitution. There are a lot of ways to train.”

Let’s see what some exercise gets me. I start with some pushups. After about three minutes my arms are burning but I continue on. After another two minutes, I stop. My arms feel like jelly. No stat changes yet. Ok. Work out the legs now. After another five minutes of squats and lunges, my legs are quivering. I then lay on the ground and do sit-ups for six minutes. I’m feeling really tired but push for one more sit-up.  Suddenly I collapse and can barely move. As I lay there I hear a giggle above me.

“What’s wrong there strong man? Can’t move? Hehe.”

“What the heck Mary? I was moving fine a minute ago. Sure I was straining but I had energy. Now I can’t move.”

“You forgot about your stamina silly. Remember, I told you when you use some skills it takes part of your stamina. The same applies to any strenuous activity. Run out of stamina and your body collapses because it’s out of energy.”

Collapsing because I ran out stamina? Note to self. Do not run out of stamina in a fight. I can only imagine what that horned rabbit would have done to me if I’d collapsed in front of it.

After a few minutes, I feel some energy flowing through my body and I can move again. I call up my [Status] screen and see I only have 1 stamina point left.

“You can move now? Good. Here are some more berries to eat. They’ll help recover your stamina.” Mary tells me while handing me the fruit.

I eat the berries while looking at my status screen and see that my stamina is recovering faster. I sit and rest until my stamina has recovered. When I get up, I notice my muscles aren’t stiff at all. I guess resting does more in this world.

Ok. I don’t want to collapse again. After about 15 minutes of hard exercise, I feel that same sense of extreme tiredness and stop immediately. I check my status screen and see that I have 2 points of stamina. I sit down and rest while eating. It takes about 15 minutes to fully recover my stamina. So, 15 minutes exercise and 15 minutes rest. Seems like a good balance.

I continue this cycle for another hour. Then I get a notification that I’ve gained new stats.

Strength +1

Constitution +1

I feel a slight increase in the strength in my limbs and feel a little less tired. Finally, the exercise paid off. Over an hour of hard work for a couple of stats. I can handle that. What about the other stats? “Mary, what can I do to train dexterity, intelligence, wisdom, or charisma?”

“You raise dexterity if you practice things that require it. Climbing, dodging, throwing or shooting things accurately all require good dexterity. Wisdom is raised when you apply the knowledge you already have or make connections from incomplete information. It’s often gained when training in puzzles or creating new things.”

That makes sense.

“The other stats might be harder for you to train here in the forest. Intelligence rises when you learn new information. So you usually get gains when you read books or raise spell levels. It’ll be easier to raise your intelligence when you get to a large city where there is a library or a mages guild. Charisma rises when you’re...well charismatic. Get new people to like you or admire you. Again, hard to raise when you’re in the forest with just me.”

“Ok, I get that I can’t do much about the intelligence stat till I can get to a city. However, can’t I just seduce a certain fairy guide to raise my charisma?”

Mary blushes slightly, puts two fingers up and comments “One, I’m way out of your league ‘level one’. Two, that kind of stupid tactic only works if your target doesn’t know they’re being used. Once they know you’re just using them, your reputation with that person will go way down. It may also lower your reputation with the town. No good buddy.”

“My reputation?”

“I was going to save this part till you met some other people but it looks like I’ll have to explain reputation now or you’ll start planning to be a fake Don Juan to raise your charisma. Reputation is the opinion any person or group has towards you. If you have a high reputation you might get discounts at stores or access to special quests because they trust you. If you have a low reputation you’ll get the opposite. You’ll get higher prices. You’re less likely to get information. You might even be thrown in jail by the city guards if your reputation is low enough.”

Oh. There goes my plan to seduce all the eligible ladies in town. “Why don’t I just work on strength, constitution, and dexterity for now then?”

“Good idea Rico Suave.”

So, I spend the rest of my first week on Terra training. I do pushups, sit-ups, squats, and lunges to train strength and constitution. I climb trees and rocks to train dexterity. I try to train [Sneak] and [Observe] while hunting. I have to cook a couple times a day so [Cooking] goes up some. After dinner, I sprint around camp to raise my constitution some more and then off to bed.

Unfortunately, my plan doesn’t go quite as well as I hoped it would. The first day’s gains are pretty good. I gain +1 to strength and dexterity, +2 to constitution. I also raise all my skills, except for [Sneak] and [Craftsman], by one level.

After that, there are diminishing returns. Turns out the higher the stat the more training it takes to raise it again. The next day I exercise twice as much but only gain an increase to constitution. The third day I decide to focus only on increasing strength and add lifting weights to the routine. I gain an increase in strength but it takes all day. Day four is dedicated to climbing and chasing squirrels. I gain another point to dexterity but I’m exhausted by the end of the day. By the end of the week, I’ve completely stagnated. I’ve stopped gaining strength, dexterity, or constitution. I’d gained a total of +4 constitution, which gives me a total of twenty-one health. I’m not sure what bonus the gains in dexterity give, but the increase in strength adds extra damage when I attack.

I had to follow small woodland creatures for more than half the day for [Sneak] to rise a level. All that sneaking lets me raise [Observe] a couple more times. However, I don’t think I’ll be fighting boss squirrels, lizards, or grass snakes anytime soon so the bonus damage from the skill is kind of wasted. There aren’t very many tough creatures to fight either so [Spear Mastery] only goes up two levels from the entire week’s hunting.

Thankfully, something happens that takes my journey to the next level and lets me get on track.

Chapter 2.2

My second week in Terra I’m feeling a little frustrated. The stats I can train have stopped rising and the stats I can’t train just sit there. I take a walk in the woods with my spear to try and figure out what I can do to get stronger. I’m wracking my brain for ideas, so it’s understandable that I’m not paying as much attention to my surroundings as I should.

I’m not sure how long I’ve been walking but I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand on end suddenly. I look around but don’t see anything. I’m ready to chock the feeling up to an overactive imagination when I’m tackled to the ground by something large and heavy.

Oh, shit! What the hell is this thing? I thought this was supposed to be a ‘safe’ area.

I’m on the ground looking up at the damn creature and see a flash of teeth moving towards me. I instinctively raise my arms to protect my throat and I feel hairy jaws clamp onto my forearm. The beast snaps its head back and forth trying to tear the flesh from my arm.

Damage received: 18

God dammit that hurts! I thought being stabbed by that horned rabbit hurt but being chewed on definitely hurts more.

I kick and punch with all my might trying to get this creature off of me but I just don’t have the leverage to hurt it much. In desperation, I grab it in a tight embrace with my good arm and roll. The move causes a wrenching sensation from the arm in the mouth of the creature but it does not like rolling onto its back and releases me. Now free, I scramble away from the thing that caused me such pain. With a little distance between us, I’m able to get a good look at what’s attacking me.

It’s a wolf. Only this has to be the largest damn wolf on record. Its fur is a dark charcoal gray, almost black. If I’d been standing, its head would come up to my chest. Since I’m still on the ground prone, it looks even bigger. However, the thing that stands out the most is its eyes. Its eyes are a piercing red that look at me with a malevolence I’ve never felt before. I know that this giant wolf hates me and all life. It will rip out my throat and enjoy seeing me die, gasping for breath.

Well, fuck that! If it wants me dead it’s going to have to pay the price. In a sudden jolt of adrenaline and anger, I grab a nearby rock with my good arm and throw it at the wolf as hard as I can. I don’t think the wolf expected much resistance after it caught me off guard and it has to dash quickly aside to avoid the rock. Still, I must have hit part of it since I hear a yelp of pain. I take advantage of the wolf’s momentary distraction and pick up my spear with my right hand. My left arm is all chewed to hell and I cradle it to my chest.

I see an icon in my periphery that looks like a large blood drop. It’s probably telling me I am bleeding. Well thanks, I figured that out on my own. Feeling a bit woozy, I hold my spear tight in my right hand and face off against the wolf. It has recovered from my improvised attack and is baring its large canines at me and growling loudly. I stab with my spear hoping to get a lucky shot in but the beast skips back out of range. I notice it has a slight limp in its rear right leg. Guess that’s where my thrown rock hit it.

We circle each other.  Each looking for a moment of weakness to harm the other. The wolf tries to get at me but my spear keeps it at bay. I try to rush forward and stab the wolf but every time I do it just moves out of reach of the spear. This wolf is too smart. Neither of us can get at the other but my arm is bleeding like a stuck pig. All it has to do is wait and I’ll probably pass out soon from blood loss. Then it has me.

I can’t kill this thing in a straight fight. It’s faster than me and probably stronger too. I’m having a hard enough time just keeping it at bay and time is not on my side. I decide on a desperate strategy. The next time it lunges at me, instead of blocking with my spear I’ll dodge to the side and throw it. Hopefully, I’ll hurt it enough that I can run away and gain enough time to bandage my arm and eat some of my [stale bread] to regain some health. Then I can make a break for camp and Mary. Maybe, just maybe, this thing won’t hunt me down and kill me.

I wait for my moment. The wolf circles me, then lunges forward. I dash to the right, throw my spear with all my might and to my utter surprise see the wolf still moving towards me. Oh shit, I missed!

That’s the last thought I have before the wolf knocks me down again. I raise my already injured left arm and the wolf clamps down like a vise. I hear a snapping sound as my forearm breaks and cry out in pain as it grinds my limb in its massive jaws. The world begins to blur. The combination of blood loss and pain is too much for my body.  As the world fades to black I think I hear the faint sound of a horn being blown in the distance.

Chapter 2.3

I float in the void. It’s so peaceful here. No stress. No worries. No damn wolf trying to eat me. Wolf!?! The thought jolts my eyes wide open and I search around in a panic looking for the wolf ready to devour me.

“Shhhh. Stay still,” a quiet familiar voice beside me says. I turn my head slightly and see Mary hovering near my head.

I look around and see that I’m not in the forest anymore. I’m lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room. There is a fire in a hearth at another side of the room that provides enough light to see. I’m in some kind of cabin.

“Where am I?” I ask.

Mary puts a finger to her lips to remind me to lower my voice. I repeat my question in a whisper.

Mary answers in a low voice, “I’m glad you’re awake. You’ve been unconscious for almost a full day. I don’t know exactly where we are. When you didn’t come back to the camp last night I used my magic to teleport to you. When I arrived, you were unconscious and lying in this bed. A woman has come in and out of the room several times to check on you. Thankfully, no one but you can see or hear me, so she didn’t know I was here. She’s not alone though. I heard her talking to a man. From what I overheard, they saved you from a worg.  What were you doing fighting a worg? You barely survived your fight with a horned rabbit.”

So that giant wolf thing is called a worg and these people saved me? “I didn’t mean to fight a...worg. I was just walking in the forest and it got the drop on me. It was so strong though. I thought I was dead.”

“You should be dead if you were really fighting a worg. They usually hunt closer to the mountains and are about levels 5-7. You shouldn’t have had to fight one near our camp. There are only supposed to be creatures up to level 3 there. That’s why the Overlord God spawned you there. It’s a good place to learn in relative safety. If they’ve come down here, something must be pushing them out of their normal territory.”

I hear the sound of footsteps outside the room and sit up. Apparently, someone heard me making noise. The door to the room opens and I see a medium sized figure silhouetted in the doorframe. “I see you are finally awake,” the figure says in a distinctly female voice. As the figure steps into the room, I see her shape is too. The woman before me is about 5 foot 7 inches and is wearing tanned leather pants, a green rough spun shirt, and a vest that hugs her shapely athletic figure. She raises a hand to brush a lock of short cut silver hair from her face and smiles at me. The combination of alabaster skin and silver hair is quite striking.  “It is not polite to stare.”

I shake my head realizing I hadn’t blinked in a while. “Oh...umm...sorry. I didn’t mean to stare.”

She takes a chair near one wall and sits it and herself near my bed. “It’s ok. I am Lilliandra, and I am used to people staring at me because of my ears.”

“Your ears?” Only then do I look at her ears and see that her ears curve upwards to a point. “You’re an elf,” I say without thinking.

“I am a half-elf. If you are just noticing now, though, what where to staring at?” She asks suspiciously.

“You’re just so pretty.” I stammer out. I hear a loud sigh from Mary and see her roll her eyes.

“You have quite a silver tongue.” Lilliandra says with a slight blush on her cheeks, “That is very nice of you to say but do not let my husband hear you say things like that. He is a bit of a beast when he thinks other men are interested in me. Besides, I am old enough to be your grandmother.”

Seeing my incredulous expression she continues, “I know I may not look it but, I am. My elf side keeps me looking young while you humans get all wrinkly.”

That does put a bit of a damper on my budding crush. “My name is Armon. I assume you saved me from that worg. Thank you.”

“I would say you were welcome but it was sort of our fault that it attacked you in the first place. We were hunting a pack of them for the local town but one got away before we could kill it. It probably thought you were with us and attacked you. Sorry.”

Seeing her sorrowful expression I couldn’t be angry. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t make it attack me and you did save me in the end.”

Her face brightens at these words and she smiles again. “I am curious, though. What were you doing in the forest all by yourself, wearing nothing but some raggedy pants?”

Mary flies close to me and says “Don’t tell her you’re from another world. It’ll only cause trouble. Trust me.”

Looking as innocently as I can, I tell Lilliandra, “Umm...I just woke up in the forest like this. I can’t remember how I got there and have been trying to survive and get out since.” Seeing that she doesn’t quite believe me I continue “Thank you again for finding and saving me. When I woke, I thought I was going to die lost and alone in the forest. My dad taught me some survival skills so I was able to hunt a little for some food but I had no idea how to get out of the forest. The reason I’m shirtless is that I had to tear it up when I tried to kill a level 3 horned rabbit and it injured me.”

“Oh, I understand how scary it must have been for you. Facing off against a fuzzy cute horned rabbit at your level.” Lilliandra replies with a slight smile on her face. “That is another thing I do not understand. Why are you only level 1 at your age? Did not your parents train you or help you raise your level with some quests?”

That’s right. Mary told me I was pretty low level for my age. Most kids level up a bit as they get older. Wait, how does this lady know my level?

Mary must have read my mind because she says in my ear, “She knows your level the same way you knew the level of that horned rabbit newb. Just focus on her, not her figure, and you’ll see her name and level above her head, too.” I do as Mary says and see that Lilliandra is level 7.

Not looking her in the eye I say, “Oh. Well, my parents have been gone for a long time. They died when I was young.” This part is actually true. In my world, my parents really did die when I was a kid. It was an awful car accident that left me alone and put me in foster care for most of my life. I couldn’t tell Lilliandra that part, though.

Lilliandra must have seen the sad look on my face because she just pats my head gently and says, “Hush now. Do not worry. We do not have to talk about it. I see that it is a sad part of your life. In my long life, I too have seen and experienced many things that I wished I had not.”

Trying to break the sad introspective moment developing, I asked her if she was the one that bandaged my arm.

“Yes, when our scout blew the signal horn I knew we had found the worg. We followed the sound and found you being chewed on. When it saw us it fled into the forest. While the rest of the group chased after the worg, I tended to your injuries. I am actually surprised you lived. You were covered in blood and had bones poking out of your arm. Luckily, I knew a healing spell that stabilized you. I set the bones and wrapped your arm up so it would not move. Then I tended to your other injuries. My husband carried you back to the cabin we use as a base and you have been sleeping since.”

“It sounds like you’ve taken great care of me. I don’t know how I can repay you or your husband.”

Looking at me with kind eyes Lilliandra says “Do not worry about it. We all have to look after each other. You can pay us back by helping others when you can.”

Hearing a loud clattering noise, we all look in the direction of room’s entrance. In walks a tall muscular man with brown hair. He’s carrying a load of firewood under one arm and a deadly looking axe in the other. He wears a similar outfit to Lilliandra but his leather gear is studded with metal rivets. Lilliandra rises from her chair and greets the man with a hug and long kiss. “Hello dear, our guest has woken up.”

“Guess I know why Lilliandra doesn’t need you ‘level one’. What a hunk.” Mary says as she drools over the man in the doorway.

Finished kissing Lilliandra, the man puts the wood and axe down by the fireplace and looks at me with furrowed brow. Wait, are those wolf ears on his head? Does this world have furries? “It’s not polite to stare boy,” he chides me in a deep voice.

I mumble an apology as I drag my eyes from the furry ears on the man's head. Lilliandra laughs, moves to her husband, puts a calming hand on his chiseled arms and says “I told him the same thing dear. I do not think he has ever seen a beastman before. So, do not be too annoyed with him.”

The man gives a loud harrumph, crosses his arms in front of his chest and looks down at me on the bed.

“Armon, this is Rex, my husband. He’s a beastman from the wolf tribe. Rex, stop glaring and greet the boy properly.” Lilliandra says.

Rex sighs slightly and his wolf ears drop a little. He walks over to my bed and extends a hand towards me. “Sorry, Armon. I’m Rex and I’m glad to see the worg didn’t eat and shit you out.”

Mary giggles at this declaration.

“Rex!” Lilliandra cries.

“What? I am glad he’s not dead.” Rex responds then gestures to me. “Level 1 like him would be worg shit by now if we hadn’t come when we did.”

“You do not say it like that, though. Besides it was our fault he was attacked in the first place.” Lilliandra chides.

I put my hands up trying to placate Lilliandra. “It’s ok. He’s right. I’d be dead right now if you two hadn’t saved me. You even took the time to bandage me up and give me a place to recuperate.” I bow my head slightly towards Rex. “Thank you, Rex, for saving me.”

Rex looks a little embarrassed at being thanked so formally. “That’s ok kid. Lilliandra is right. It was kind of our fault for letting that worg get away when we were taking care of the rest of the pack.”

“Is it normal for worgs to be in this area? Before it attacked me I hadn’t seen anything like that around here.”

Lilliandra answers my question, “It is unusual for there to be worgs in this area. That is why the locals put the subjugation request in with the adventurer’s guild. The adventurer’s guild sent us to deal with the problem.”

“Subjugation request?” I inquire.

“That’s when something or a lot of somethings starts hurting village folk or livestock and needs to be killed,” Rex responds. “Yes, the village puts up a quest with the adventurer's guild. Then, the adventurer's guild sends its members to do the ‘killing’ and once the quest is complete we get paid and get some nice experience.” Lilliandra explains.

“Well, that works out nicely. The town gets their problem solved and you get paid. I’m a little short on money myself. How do I join the adventurer's guild?”

“Aww, man. I wasn’t going to get to this part till later. You’re ruining my lesson plans.” Mary complains in my ear.

“You can join the adventurer's guild in any good sized city. Just ask around for the guild building. You are a little low in level to join, though. You have to be at least level 5 to join up.” advises Lilliandra.

“Level 5 is also when you can join guilds that’ll teach you special skills. That’s why the adventurer’s guild has that requirement.” Mary chimes in. “There are schools you can join before level five to teach you basic skills but those are also usually located in larger towns or cities.”

“Well, that’s too bad. I need to get some money to pay for supplies and a shirt.” I wiggle my dirty toes. “Some shoes too.” I start thinking about all the stuff I’d like to get now that I know there’s a village nearby. That reminds me. Facing Rex I ask, “Did you happen to pick up my spear when you found me? I’m not trying to sound ungrateful or anything. It’s just that it’s the only weapon I have to hunt with.”

“We found a broken branch with a snapped horn attached to it. That’s all. Why are you hunting for food, though? Aren’t you from the village?” Rex asks.

“No, I’m not from the village. I was lost in those woods. I made that spear myself and that was all I had really.” I get a little sad thinking of my broken horny spear. I guess I can make another one but I’m not sure how to get back to our camp.

Rex and Lilliandra give each other a look. “You made that spear you say? Most kids your age are not that interested in making things. They are more interested in swinging swords or learning spells.” Lilliandra says.

“Well, I’ve always been good at making things. Being on your own forces you to make do and figure out how to make a lot of the stuff you need.”

“On your own?” Rex asks. Lilliandra waves her husband's questions away, “I’ll explain it to you later, dear.” Rex nods. “It is getting late and your left arm is still healing. Get some sleep Armon and we will talk some more in the morning.” I nod and turn on my side facing away from the door and pull the covers over my body. I hear Rex and Lilliandra leave the room closing the door behind them.

Once I’m sure they’ve left I turn to face Mary, “When were you planning to tell me all that stuff about guilds and schools. Oh, and why didn’t you tell me there were other races besides humans?”

Slapping her palms on her face, Mary sighs and explains, “I had a perfectly good, guide approved plan to introduce you to all this stuff. Introduce you to the world. Get you comfortable in a safe environment. Then once we got your stats up and you got to level two, then take you to town and tell you about everything else. Don’t blame me if you go and almost get yourself killed by a worg and almost ruin my good record as a guide. Besides what does it matter if there are other races besides humans? You a speciest or something?”

“Uhhh, no! I’m not a speciest.” Is that even a real word? “Some of my best friends are other races. What are the other races here in this world, though?”

“Sure, that’s what all speciest say. Anyways, it’s not that big a deal. I was going to explain all this once we got you meeting other people. There are too many races in this world to name them all. Besides, I think it’s fun seeing how you react when you meet other races. Can’t wait for you to meet the Boogiemen race. Maybe one will visit you tonight in your sleep.”

I roll my eyes. “There’s no such thing as a Boogiemen race. Is there?” Mary looks at me with a serious look in her eye then flies to a corner of the room to go to sleep. “Mary, there’s no such thing right?” Mary’s only answer is silence. As I roll over to go to sleep I think I hear small giggles.

Chapter 2.4

I wake up unrested. I tossed and turned all night. I kept waking up from dreams of boogie men reaching out from under the bed, grabbing my feet, and yelling “Ooogie Booogie, I AM the Pumpkin King!” Such weird dreams. Thanks a lot Mary.

I sit up in bed and look around. Mary lies sleeping on the pillow near me. At some point in the night, she must have come over to sleep. Daylight streams into the room from the single window near the bed. Outside I see the green forest and hear the faint sound of running water. There must be a river or stream near. Examining the room in the daylight for the first time, I see a fireplace on the other side of the room, a woven rug on the floor, a writing desk, a dresser, and the chair Lilliandra used last night. On the dresser, there are some folded up clothes, a bowl of water, and a rag. Getting up from bed quietly so as not to wake Mary, I pick up the clothes and examine them.

Basic Shirt

Defense: 2

A well-made simple shirt that offers slightly better than minimal protection.

Basic Pants

Defense: 2

Well-made simple pants that offers slightly better than minimal protection.

Basic Shoes

Defense: 2

Well-made simple shoes that offers slightly better than minimal protection.

The clothes seem to be just about my size and are definitely better than what I have now. Seeing the clean clothes I remember that I’ve been wearing just these ratty pants for a week. I look down at myself and realize just how dirty I’ve gotten. All that training and fighting hasn’t done my pants any favors either. Guess that’s what the bowl of water is for.

With my back to the bed, I undress, take the rag, and soak it in water. I clean as much of my body as I can reach with the water and rag. I already feel cleaner but I still have a small spot on my back I just can’t seem to reach no matter how I stretch.

“Want me to clean your back for you?” I hear a giggly voice say. I spin around in surprise to see Mary sitting on the bed’s pillow grinning.

“M...M...M...Mary! How long have you been awake?” I stutter.

“Long enough to see there’s a full moon. This side is pretty nice too, though.” She says, her gaze moving south on my body.

I realize where she’s trying to look and quickly cover my stick and berries with the rag.

“Spoilsport.” Mary grumbles and crosses her arms.

“Please turn around Mary. It’s not polite to peep.” Mary rolls her eyes but does turn around to face the wall.

I quickly put on the clothes on the dresser. I notice they’re a bit loose on me but fit nicely. It feels good to have shoes on my feet again too. “Ok, you can turn around now.”

Mary turns around to face me. “Doesn’t look bad. Those two from last night must have left that for you. You looked pretty beat up and ragged.”

“Thanks,” I respond sarcastically. My stomach growls and I decide to go look for some food now that I’m all cleaned up. I walk out of the room, Mary flying behind me.

Walking into a hallway, I notice three other doors leading to other bedrooms. I wonder how many other people are staying here. I resist the urge to peek in the rooms and walk down the hallway to my right. The hallway ends in a spacious open room with one door and large windows. The room has a large wooden rectangular table with bench seating at one end of the room.  At the other end are a cooking hearth, counters, and shelving. That’s probably the kitchen. I head over there to find something to eat. On the counter, I find a plate piled with sliced bread, fruits, meats and a note. I pick up the note but can’t read the language the note is written in.

“Mary, why can I speak with everyone but can’t read this note?”

“Be happy you can speak the local language. There are over 100 different languages in the world and even more dialects. The Overlord God granted you knowledge of how to speak the local language, Xican, since anyone your age would be able to. However, not everyone knows how to read and write so giving you those skills wouldn’t be fair.”

“Then why can I read the message boxes I’ve been getting?” I ask.

Mary waves her hand dismissively in the air, “Magic.”

“Magic? That’s the best answer you have?”

She sighs dramatically and responds, “Fine. Do you want the long answer? The Overlord God instituted the magic that allows all the creatures in this world to grow and become more powerful. This includes the system that creates notifications and quest boxes. His magic translates the system messages directly into the mind of the user. What you see is not in any one language, it’s in all of them and none of them simultaneously.”

I rub my head for a moment trying to digest what Mary said. Her answer makes my brain hurt. How can something be in all languages and none at the same time? Is this one of those Schrödinger's cat kind of things?

I shrug, giving up trying to figure it out. “Ok. Magic. Got it.”

I bring the plate of food and note to the bench and sit down to eat. While I’m eating, Mary reads the note to me.

Armon. Rex and I have gone out to help finish the subjugation quest. Enjoy the food. Please stay inside and rest until we get back. We have much to talk about.

Lilliandra

P.s. - The clothes in your room are a gift.  We cannot have you walking around half naked after all.

As Mary finishes reading the note I’m surprised to find that I’ve eaten every bit of food on the plate. I turn to Mary. “They want to talk with me when they get back. Wonder what they want to talk about?”

“You should find out soon enough. I hear someone coming.”

Listening intently, I hear footsteps outside too. When I look out the front window I see Rex, Lilliandra, and someone else I don’t recognize coming up a path to the cabin. The three seem to be chatting as they walk. I hear bits of their conversation.

“Darn thing was moving pretty fast….”

“Took a good swipe at you…”

“Did you see its face when your arrow…”

Backing away from the front window, I sit at the table and wait for them. When the front door opens, the three enter still chatting. “Good morning.” I greet them. All three stop talking and look at me.

“You mean good afternoon,” Lilliandra says as she comes inside. Rex and the stranger follow her inside. Each puts down a variety of gear and weapons in a corner of the room.

“Uh, yes. Good afternoon.” I correct myself. “I guess I slept longer than I thought.”

Lilliandra takes a seat across from me and continues, “You should still be resting Armon. Your arm was broken and while I used magic to mend that, it still took a lot of energy from your body to do so.”

I nod. Guess that explains my increased appetite. Before I can ask Lilliandra more about healing magic the stranger interrupts. “Ho ho, is this the lad we saved? He looks pretty good in my old clothes.” He extends a hand to me and says “I’m Keans. Sorry, we didn’t get a chance to meet yet, but I was out tracking that last worg.”

Taking the stranger's hand, I shake it. “I’m Armon. Thank you for saving me and thanks for the clothes. They fit great.” Examining Keans, I see he has tanned skin, sandy blonde hair, is a good six inches taller and is broader in the shoulders than me. “Though I wouldn’t think we wore the same size clothes.”

Keans smiles and responds, “Ha, right you are. You can thank Rex for the alterations in the clothes. He’s quite the seamstress.”

Rex takes a seat next to Lilliandra and I hear the wooden bench groan from the added weight. You can tell he’s irritated since his wolf ears are stiff and pointed at Keans. Rex responds, “I’m not a seamstress. It’s the [Tailoring] skill and you know it Keans.” Turning back to me he continues “Well, no one carries clothes in my size. So I had to learn how to make my own or pay a tailor to do it. It’s a useful skill. I could show you a bit sometime if you want.”

My inner cheapskate rejoices at the chance for free skill training. With a grin on my face, I respond, “That would be great Rex. I can save a lot of money if I can make my own clothes. Thank you.”

Rex nods and his ears relax, seeming happy to have someone to pass on his tailoring skills to. Lilliandra coughs and looks at Rex pointedly. Rex looks at Lilliandra in puzzlement for a moment then he seems to remember something and turns to me again. “Oh, that’s right. We were going to talk to you, Armon.”

“Oh? What did you want to talk about?”

“Your very fate as a destined hero,” Rex responds with a serious look on his face. The room is oddly quiet as everyone looks at Rex.

With a loud groan, the silence is broken by Keans. “You’re so serious, Rex. Don’t make it sound like he’s the only hope against a demon horde or anything else from some fairy tale. Boy, we’re just talking about what you’re going to be doing from here on.”

“For once Keans is correct. Armon, from what you told us last night, you do not remember how you got to this part of the continent. Also, from what you mentioned, it also sounds like you have been alone for a while. Is that correct?” Lilliandra asks with slightly wide eyes and an empathetic tilt to her head.

While it was true that I’d been on my own for most of my life I didn’t want  to say anything that’ll give away that I’m really from an entirely different world. So, I just nod.

“You poor dear. We thought as much considering how little you know and the fact that we found you in rags.” Tears in her eyes, Lilliandra turns her head and sniffs.

Rex continues for the group, “Keans and I understand what it’s like having to fend for yourself. We’re both from the same orphanage and had to scrape for everything.”

“Aye, we both knew that we’d be adventurers but the orphanage barely had enough money to feed everyone much less provide armor, weapons, or training. We were stuck at level one hunting rabbits and rats for ages. It took us a lot longer than most people to get to level five and join the adventurer’s guild because we could never afford good equipment or skill trainers.” Keans added.

“Right, so we were talking and we decided to help you learn some skills so you won’t have as hard a time as we did.” Rex continued while Lilliandra nodded.

“Aww, these people aren’t so bad. I’m glad I was wrong and they’re not going to murder you and harvest your organs.” Mary whispers in my ear.

Wait, what?!? She thought they might murder me? I glance at Mary quickly and see her smirking. She was just joking. Damn comedian fairy.

Ignoring the comedy fairy, I bow my head in respect. “That’s a very generous offer. I accept. I don’t know what I can do to repay you, though.”

“Oh, just your first five years’ wages is all,” Keans answers quickly and I look up at him. Rex hits him in the shoulder and gives him a stern look. “Just pulling your leg kid.” He amends with a mischievous smile still on his face.

Not many people in my world would help out a total stranger this much. I’m lucky to have been rescued by them. I’ll have to think of some way to pay them back, though. Then a thought occurs to me.

“What about your subjugation quest? You said the local town doesn’t have an adventurer's guild. So how will you get paid for finishing it? Also, don’t you adventure to make a living? Won’t training me eat up your adventuring time?”

“Don’t worry about that, Armon. We already completed the subjugation quest. So we’ve already received the experience points.” Rex assures me.

“Plus we have a full year to collect the money for the quest from the adventurer’s guild. So it’ll keep just fine where it is,” adds Keans.

“That is right. We have already worked it all out. Between the three of us, we have enough saved to take some time off. Besides, we are not going to stop adventuring entirely. We will take turns working locally and training you. When we can, we will even take you along with us so you can get some experience.” Lilliandra explains.

I sigh in relief hearing that I won’t be a burden to them. Even though I’ve only known these people a very short time I feel like they care about me. It’s been a long time since anyone has cared about me, much less sacrificed their time and money to help me. With a swell of appreciation in my chest, I look Lilliandra, Rex, and Keans in their eyes and ask, “So, where do we start then?”

Chapter 2.5

With the offer to train me made and accepted, we discuss the details of how they’ll train me. I tell them my current skill set: Sneak: Novice 3 (26%), Observe: Novice 1 (89%), Craftsman: Novice 1 (1%), Firestarter: Novice 1 (1%), Cooking: Novice 1 (1%), Spear Mastery: Novice 1 (1%).  Lilliandra notes that most of my current skills were developed to survive in the wilderness. Rex is glad that I have at least one weapon skill and Keans just smirks when he hears that sneak is my highest skill and says, “Whether it’s offense or defense, it’s always better not to be seen by your enemy lad.”

When I ask about their skills and what they can teach me, they each get a faraway look as they each look at their [Skill] pages. Lilliandra says she has mostly focused on magic and support skills though she has many lesser skills she’s learned in her long life. Rex is the group’s main fighter, so he has lots of combat related skills in addition to a few crafting skills like [Tailor].  Keans is a ranged fighter and usually plays the scout role for the group.

Unfortunately, it turns out they can’t teach me any of the specialty skills they’ve learned from the guilds they’ve joined. It’s a part of the magically enforced agreement they signed when they joined their respective guilds. That makes sense since each guild would want to keep a monopoly on the secret techniques they’ve developed. However, there are plenty of basic skills and spells the trio can teach that aren’t guild secrets.

While I appreciate the importance of being stealthy and knowing how to fight, I’m most interested in magic. I mean it’s every fantasy book reader's dream to wield magical forces. In my head, I’m already waving a wand and yelling ‘spellicus’. Unfortunately, it turns out that reading is a prerequisite to learning any spell and in this world I’m illiterate. When Lilliandra hears this she makes it her top priority to teach me how to read and write in both the common language of this country, Xican, and the arcane language needed to learn most spells.

Since my spell casting is on hold till I learn a language or two, it’s decided that I’ll spend every morning learning to read and write from Lilliandra. In the afternoon I’ll train my body and learn the basic weapon skills that Rex knows. In the evenings I’ll learn and practice miscellaneous skills. Keans will be earning some coin by completing some local quests as well as hunting and cooking for the group.

By the time we finalize our plans for the near future, evening has approached and everyone is pretty hungry. While Lilliandra prepares a list of materials she’ll need to teach me, Rex chops some wood for the cooking hearth and the cooking is left up to Keans. Keans uses the meat that last worg dropped to make a stew.

I help him prepare the ingredients by chopping up some root vegetables and cutting the meat into cubes. He does the rest of the work by boiling water in a pot and making some paste and spices that he adds that turns all the raw ingredients into a savory smelling stew. When I check my [Skills], I see that just helping him prepare dinner has increased my [Cooking] skill. Maybe I’ll make this part of my routine too. Being a good cook is always a useful skill to have.

Chapter 2.6

I wake up early the next morning excited to begin training. The sun is barely up and no one else is awake yet. I sit at the table in the main room munching on some fruit and wait for everyone else to get up.

Mary lazily flies into the room, her hair rumpled, rubbing her eyes. “Why are you up soooo early? The sun is barely up.”

“I’m excited to train. Don’t you realize how great an opportunity this is? You said I was behind other people my age and this is a chance to catch up, for FREE.”

“I guess.” Yawning, she continues, “Still, you don’t have to get up so early. Don’t you know fairies aren’t morning people?” I just smile slightly and roll my eyes.

As the sun rises, so does the rest of the group. Lilliandra is the first to come out followed shortly by Rex. They’re both already dressed for the day when they walk into the room. Rex heads to the table and nods to me as he takes a seat on the bench near me. Lilliandra places a kettle of water above the cooking hearth and serves herself and Rex some leftover stew. Coming to the table she greets me with a smile on her face. “Good morning Armon. It is nice to see you up so early. How is your arm feeling today?”

“Good morning to you too. My arm feels much better, thank you. I think the bandages can come off today and I can start training.”

Catching my enthusiasm, Rex smiles at Lilliandra and raises an eyebrow. “Is he ok to start training, Love?”

Smiling knowingly, Lilliandra gently takes my injured arm into her hands and examines it closely. She pokes and prods it carefully watching my face for any signs of pain. “I suppose you may be right, Armon.” She then takes off the bandages and has me flex my arm to make sure everything works ok. “It should be ok for you to start training today.”

Rex slaps me on the back in congratulations and almost sends me sprawling across the table.

It still amazes me that only a few days ago this arm was a ruined broken mess. I can still remember the agonizing pain from the teeth of the worg tearing into my flesh and the sound of bones breaking as its jaws clamped down. Magic in this world is truly amazing. I can’t wait to learn it.

Getting up, Lilliandra moves to the hearth and picks up the kettle of water. She puts some crushed leaves into a ceramic cup and pours the steaming water into it. She inhales deeply smelling the aroma as the water seeps into the leaves. Taking a sip, she smiles and asks if I’d like a cup.

Seeing my unsure face, Mary whispers in my ear “It’s called agavie. Sort of like the tea of your world but made from local leaves and spices.”

Reassured by Mary’s information I accept Lilliandra’s offer. As she hands me a hot cup of the beverage I notice that the aroma is quite pleasant. I take a small sip and a fruity earthy flavor fills my mouth. Nice. It’s no Earl Grey but nice still.

“Thank you for the agavie.” As Lilliandra sits back down to finish her food I can’t help but fidget and look expectantly at her. When will we begin training?

Rex finishes his food then kisses Lilliandra on the cheek, whispers in her ear, then heads out the door calling on his way out, “See you this afternoon Armon. Pay attention to Lilliandra.”

Sensing my unsubtle stare, Lilliandra smiles and begins “I suppose you want to start your training?” I nod eagerly. “However, you will not be learning any magic for a long time. You have to learn to read and write in Xican before you can read magical theory text. I will teach you the basics of the arcane language but do not expect to throw fireballs anytime soon.”

I’m a little disappointed that I won’t be able to just wave a wand and cast magic.

Looking at my face Lilliandra must see my disappointment. “However, in the interest of education, I will show you one spell.” My eyes widen in excitement.

Lilliandra begins to speak in a language I don’t understand. At the same time, she extends the index finger of her right hand and it emits a glow as she writes some strange symbols in the air. When she finishes the last symbol, she stops speaking and a bright globe of white light appears about two feet above the table. The light is so bright it partially blinds me and I have to shade my eyes with my hand. Lilliandra speaks a single word, writes a symbol in the air and the light vanishes. I blink my eyes trying to get rid of the spots I see.

Even though I can’t see perfectly yet I can’t help but smile. So that’s magic? The whole process took about ten seconds but was amazing. I want to do magic so much more now.

“That was wonderful. Thank you so much for showing me that. What were you speaking and writing? I couldn't understand a word of it. Does it normally take that long to cast a spell? Can you change the spell? Make the light a different color? Or change its size? Or make it brighter? Or darker? Or...”

“Hold on.” She raises her hand and interrupts my stream of questions. “Let me answer some of your questions before you ask more.”

I take a deep breath but don’t say anything more.

“What I was saying and writing was the arcane language. Most spells require both a written and verbal component to activate. For a basic spell, yes that is an average time. More complicated spells take more time and may even require a ceremony or special materials. Part of what you’ll learn in our training is to read, write, and speak those arcane symbols. Until you do, there is no way for you to learn magic. As far as changing the spell, yes I can change all those parts you mentioned. I just have to plan those changes in advance. Each word I spoke and wrote was a component of what makes up that spell. Some of them determined where the light was going to appear. Others what color the light was going to be. Other still how bright it was. I would not recommend trying to make those kinds of changes on the fly since one mistake in your spell work can have disastrous consequences for the spell caster.”

I had so many questions about spells and what I could do with them. I was about to ask them when she began speaking again.

“I see you have more questions and that is fine. However, I cannot give you a full magical education in a day. Besides, you wouldn’t understand half of it if I did explain all the magical theory I know right now. First, we need to get you literate.” Handing me a stack of papers, she continued. “Here are all the letters in the Xican alphabet. I’ll say the sound of each letter. Copy each letter to another piece of paper and say the associated sound as you write. Repeat this exercise until you can write and say them from memory.”

Learn the Xican Alphabet

Lilliandra wants you to learn to read and write Xican. Learn all the letters of the Xican alphabet.

Rewards: 5 XP. Increased reputation with Lilliandra.

Accept or Decline?

I sigh slightly at the busy work. I understand why it’s important but it seems so boring compared to magic.

Seeing Lilliandra raise an eyebrow at my sigh, I quickly smile, accept the quest and start copying the first symbol. Lilliandra says the sound for the symbol and I repeat the sound. After we go through all the sounds and symbols twice Lilliandra says she has to go into the village to collect materials for our future training sessions and leaves me alone to practice.

Sometime about noon Keans stumbles into the main room. His hair is ruffled and half his nightshirt is hanging out of his pants. He grumbles something unintelligible in my direction, then grabs some fruit and a roll before he heads back to his room.

I continue my work for another hour before I see Keans again. This time he’s dressed in his leathers and has a bow and quiver of arrows. Greeting me again, he informs me he’s going out to check the village work board for any jobs. He says he’ll be back sometime this evening to make dinner. I bid him good luck and continue my copying work. Mary helps me remember which sounds go with each symbol as I copy them.

As I take a break in the afternoon to eat, Rex comes back and informs me it’s time to start training with him. “Don’t work me too hard, ok?” I tell him jokingly. Rex just gives me a broad smile and I see his wolf ears twitch slightly. For some reason, his smile is not reassuring.

I hear Mary sniggering as I head to the door after Rex. “What are you laughing at?” I whisper to Mary.

“I was reading a shifter romance story from your world and ‘Don’t work me too hard’ was what she said.” She laughs loudly after saying this. Thankfully, Rex is ahead of me and can’t see me blush. I try to ignore Mary’s laughter as I leave the cabin.

When we head outside for the first time, I get a good look at the cabin and its surroundings. The cabin is made of logs likely cut from the surrounding by forest and has two large windows in the front along with a stout door. The sound of running water is louder outside of the cabin. When I search for the source of the sound I can see a stream through some trees off to the west.

Rex starts walking north and I follow with Mary flying behind me. We walk in silence for about fifteen minutes until we come to a small clearing not much bigger than the cabin. The clearing is surrounded on all sides by trees. Though some of them seem to have been chopped down recently.

Rex walks to a fallen tree and picks up the axe leaning against the stump. He swings the axe and cuts deeply into a nearby tree. He then pulls the axe free and repeats the motion. Swing, cut, pull out, and repeat. Soon a cracking sound comes from the tree and Rex stands back as the tree falls with a loud crash. Rex isn’t even breathing hard as he begins stripping the branches from the body of the fallen tree.

I can only imagine the strength it takes to fell a tree in such a short amount of time. Rex turns to me and points at another axe I hadn’t seen before then points to another tree. This one smaller than the one he chopped down but it’s still at least four paces across.

Chop down Tree

As a part of your training, Rex has tasked you with chopping down a single tree. Time Limit: 3 hours.

Rewards: 5 XP. Increased reputation with Rex.

Accept or Decline?

A blue box appears asking me if I’ll accept a quest from Rex to chop down the indicated tree within three hours. I accept the quest.

Following Rex’s directions, I pick up the axe and begin trying to chop the tree down. Even though I’m swinging the axe with all my strength I barely cut into the tree. As each swing impacts the tree a jarring force travels down the axe handle into my arms and up my shoulders. I don’t seem to be making much progress.

“Maybe you should take off your shirt. It could improve your aerodynamics.” Mary suggests

I roll my eyes knowing that Mary just wants to see some men working without shirts on.

I look around for Rex and I see him watching me a little ways away. He nods and walks over to me. “Your feet are spread evenly in front of the tree. Move your left foot forward or put your right foot back.”

Mary begins flying around dancing and talking in a sing-song voice, “Don’t forget to shake it all about. That’s what it’s all about after all. ” Then she dissolves into a fit of giggles.

I ignore Mary and do as Rex says. I find that the axe does bite deeper when I swing it now. Watching me still, Rex says “Move your grip farther down the handle of the axe and don’t swing with just your arms but with your whole body.”

Doing as he says I start knocking larger chunks of wood from the tree. Though I’m getting tired and my muscles are burning, I push through, worrying I won’t finish chopping the tree before my three hours are up. Suddenly my body freezes up and I fall backward, axe slipping from my hands as I hit the ground.

Rex kneels next to me and says gruffly. “First lesson Armon. Always know your limits. You need to always be aware of how much stamina you have when you're fighting. If you run out, this happens. Even the strongest man in the world is helpless when his stamina runs out.”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small vial. He pours the content of the vial down my throat. Blegh, tastes like moldy sweat socks.

My body unfreezes. I wipe my mouth of the foul taste and sit up. “What was that?”

“That was a bit of a stamina potion. Most groups carry at least one vial in case someone runs out of stamina during a battle. Tastes terrible but better than dying to a foe’s blade.”

So they have stamina potions? Wonder what other potions they have? “Rex, are there other types of potions you use when you’re in a group?”

“Hmm, depends on the type of group. If the group has someone that uses magic they usually have mana potions. A group without a healer would be foolish not to have some healing potions. There are also a variety of antidotes a good group should carry.”

“Can you teach me how to make potions?”

“Sorry, potion making isn’t among my skills. Keans knows a little potion making, though. Maybe he can show you the basics. However, right now you’re training with me. Get up, pick up the axe and get back to chopping down that tree.”

I get up off the ground and begin swinging my axe again. Soon I feel tired, though. This time I remember to check my stamina and indeed find it getting low. I take a break and eat some fruit I brought with me to increase my stamina regeneration.

Seeing me take a break, Rex pats me on the shoulder and says “Good, you’ve learned your lesson. Don’t let pride push you past your limits.” He then walks away and resumes his own tree chopping.

As soon as my stamina is full again I get back to work. I barely finish cutting the tree down before my three hours are up. I receive some experience points from completing the quest as well as a notification that I got a new skill, [Logging].

You’ve received 5 XP. You’ve increased your reputation with Rex.

Logging

You can chop down trees with the best of them. You can cut down trees at an increased speed.

Level: Novice 1 (1%)

Bonus: Chop down trees 1% faster

I tell Rex that I finished the quest he gave and that I got the [Logging] skill. He pauses his tree cutting, nods and says “Again,” then resumes his work. I get a new notification saying that I’ve received the quest to chop down a tree again, this time within two hours and thirty minutes.

Chop down Tree

As a part of your training, Rex has tasked you with chopping down a single tree. Time Limit: 2 hours 30 minutes.

Rewards: 5 XP. Increased reputation with Rex.

Accept or Decline?

I accept and get to work on my next tree.

Thanks to the improved technique Rex has shown me and the breaks I take to recoup my stamina I make my deadline for the quest. I even have two whole minutes to spare. This time in addition to the experience points and increase in the [Logging] skill, I also gain a single point of constitution. I couldn’t help but smile at the stat gain. It felt so good to gain another stat after plateauing with my self-training in the forest.

After I complete the quest, Rex calls it a day since evening is starting to fall and we head back to the cabin. Behind the cabin are an outdoor shower and a wash basin that we use to clean up before we head inside. When we walk into the cabin I see Lilliandra at the table looking over the copies I made of the Xican alphabet and Keans in the kitchen preparing dinner. Taking a seat next to Lilliandra, Rex kisses her on the cheek and whispers something in her ear that makes her blush slightly.

Remembering I’m also there Lilliandra says, “Welcome back Armon. I see you have survived your first day of training with Rex. Was he tough on you?”

“No, he wasn’t too tough. We chopped some trees down and he helped me remember that I need to watch my stamina when I’m working or fighting. I also learned a new skill, [Logging], and I even gained a point in constitution.” I couldn’t help but smile at the mention of gaining the stat point from training.

“Gained a stat point, did you? I’m glad to hear that. That shows that you were working hard today,” commends Rex. “Don’t expect to always increase your stats after every training session. The higher your stats get the harder it is to increase them through training like this. After a while, you’ll only be able to raise your stats through leveling.”

“That is true. You should gain an increase in your intelligence and wisdom through the training we are doing. However, it usually takes longer. In some ways it is harder to train your mind than it is to train your body.” chimes in Lilliandra. She then proceeds to point to the work I completed earlier and comments on several mistakes I made in my writing. Overall she’s pleased with how well I’m doing after only a day but expects me to do better tomorrow. I promise to do my best and head into the kitchen to help Keans.

Keans welcomes me back and hands me a knife, a cutting board, and some vegetables to chop while he prepares some meat. While I chop up vegetables I recount for Keans my training with Rex and mention how useful the stamina potion he used was. Keans pauses in his work and looks keenly at me. “So, you’ve used your first potion and discovered how useful they are? I don’t suppose Rex told you I knew a little potion making?”

“Well, he might have mentioned it. It’s just that it seems so powerful to be able to make potions that can heal you or restore your magic or stamina. I’d hoped you could teach me how to make them.” I confess.

“Well, I’m afraid not lad. You're just not ready. First, you need to learn which plants are used for healing and which are going to poison you. I could lend you a book for that but you don’t even know how to read yet. Then you need to buy an alchemist set. Even a cheap one costs quite a bit. You’ll have to earn the money for that yourself. You’re just not ready. Sorry.”

The only thing I can say to that is a dejected “Oh.” I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed. There go all my grand dreams of becoming a potions master like Professor Snape.

“Don’t crush the kid’s dreams, Keans,” Rex calls out from the table. Lilliandra nods in agreement. Mary is giving Keans the stink eye and making faces at him. It loses some of its effects though since he can’t see her.

Keans looks at Rex and Lilliandra silently for a moment, sighs loudly, then turns to me. “Fine, fine. Maybe I can point out one or two plants that can be used to make a simple potion and you can practice finding them. However, I refuse to teach you any potion making until you can read my book on herbalism. I don’t want you accidently killing yourself because you confused nightshade with wolf’s bane.”

Clapping, Lilliandra says “Good for you Keans. We shall make you a teacher yet.”

Turning his back on the group, Keans goes back to preparing the meat for dinner. I smile and whisper “Thanks” to him. He just glances at me, smiles, and winks before going back to his prep work.

I finish chopping up the vegetables and Keans uses them to prepare a wonderful dish of cooked rabbit meat and vegetables in some kind of salty dark sauce. It kind of reminds me of stir fry but the spices are different. Whatever he’s using, it is delicious.

My [Cooking] skill rises after helping but that’s only a side benefit to gaining the [Knife Master] skill. Guess handling that knife for the last couple days counted towards knife training.

Knife Mastery

You've learned how to wield the mighty knife. Both a tool and weapon, the knife has many uses. You get a bonus to damage done with this weapon.

Level: Novice 1 (1%)

Bonus: 1% bonus to damage.

After everyone finishes their food I wash the dishes and we all go to bed. I’m excited to continue my training tomorrow.

Chapter 2.7

Spending every morning learning to read and write with Lilliandra is difficult yet satisfying.  The common language here, Xican, is a language with thirty-two characters and is written from left to right. While there are some differences, it’s similar enough to the language I already know that it’s not too hard to learn. I complete the “Learn the Xican Alphabet” quest after only a few days, get 5 XP and an increase in intelligence for my efforts. I get another quest from Lilliandra to learn to read and write two hundred words in Xican.

Vocabulary Building

You've learned the Xican alphabet. Lilliandra now tasks you with learning how to read and write 200 new words.

Rewards: 5 XP. Increased reputation with Lilliandra.

Accept or Decline?

Learning a new vocabulary will take time but shouldn't be too difficult. I accept the quest.

The next day Lilliandra procures children's books for me to practice reading Xican. It was by reading these stories that I learn about some of the myths and legends of this world.

One of the creation stories says that the universe was once empty and there was nothing but the Overlord God. However, after a very long time he got lonely and created other gods, his children. For a time all was well. However, like all children, they eventually began to quarrel and fight. The Overlord God did not like this and created a game for his children to play.

He granted each of them the power to create and challenged each to make the best thing. The god Sol was the first to accept and he created the sun and all stars in the sky. The next god was Tenebris and she hated all the light and created the void or the dark space between each star. The god Terram created many balls of dirt and metal and sent them spinning around the stars. One of Terram’s favorite balls of dirt and metal he called Terra after himself. At this place, the god Ignis created fire and set it at the core of Terra warming the place. Jealous of the collaboration between Ignis and Terram the god Vepo created water to cool Terra. Aja, the cleverest of the gods used the creations of the others to create plants and animals on Terra. Seeing how Aja created moving things, the other gods worked with Aja to make more moving life on Terra. Thus were created races, monsters, and other beings.

Another story explaining death says that when the gods created life on Terra they knew no restraint and created more and more trying to outdo each other. They created so much life that soon it began to become overcrowded. So, the twin gods of Vitae and Mortem seeing the over crowdedness used their powers to take and give life to all the creations on Terra. Mortem would take energy from all and cause decay and death. He would then give that energy to Vitae and she would seed the world with it, allowing plants to bear seeds and creatures so give birth to new life.

One story, in particular, answered how people in this world viewed the [Status] screens. To me, they were like the game screens from video games I played. One story explains that one day the Overlord God finds his children arguing over which race on Terra is the most powerful and he creates the blue boxes that appear as a way of proving how powerful the races are. I think this one is told to kids so they stop arguing about who’s the best.

In some stories, magic is described as energy from gods. In others, it’s a creation of the races to harness the natural elements of the world.

Intelligence +1

I get an increase in intelligence from learning these creation stories and while I enjoy reading them I suspect they might differ depending on the country or race telling them. Still, every story or legend has a grain of truth. You never know, some of these stories may lead to a great quest one day.

Soon after learning the basics of Xican Lilliandra agrees to start my training in the arcane language. While learning Xican is just a matter of time and practice, I find learning the arcane language a lot more difficult. There are over two hundred known characters to memorize and writing them is more like drawing since each has a set number of lines and curves that have to be placed just right.  Additionally, how you combine the characters changes depending on what you’re trying to do. Sentences can be written left to right, right to left, top to bottom, or in a variety of shapes. According to Lilliandra, the way the words and sentences are written change the spell and its effects.

Learn the Arcane Alphabet I

So you want to learn magic. Lilliandra tasks you with learning the first 10 characters in the arcane alphabet. You must be able to speak and draw each character perfectly to complete the quest.

Rewards: 10 XP. Increased reputation with Lilliandra. First magic lesson.

Accept or Decline?

I accept. Though I figure it’s going to take me a while just to learn to write, read, and pronounce just ten characters perfectly.

Chapter 2.8

Training in the afternoons with Rex is very demanding. My half-baked training in the forest by myself was nothing compared to what Rex came up with. The first week Rex has me chopping trees, clearing stumps, and pulling a plow through a field. Since I official quests from Rex for everything, I gain quite a few experience points for my work. While I also gain increases in constitution and strength it was still hard and tiring work. I increase my [Logging] skill to Novice level 4 and gain the odd skill [Workhorse]. It gives me a bonus to pulling equipment normally used by horses and draft animals. I don’t know that it’s going to be a useful skill in the future but hey it’s free.

It also turns out that all that work was just to clear an area wide enough to build a training ground. Rex and I spend the next week turning the trees we chop into logs and boards. A friend of Rex’s from the village brought the tools we need. Even though it is tough work, at the end of the week I’ve increased my constitution by one point and gained points in dexterity. I also learn [Carpentry] and get it to Novice level 3.

The week after that we began building the training ground. Digging post holes, setting logs, moving dirt by the bucketful, and nailing boards. That’s how my ‘training’ goes for the next two weeks. Getting the [Construction] skill makes building everything easier but it is still back breaking work. I gain a point in strength, constitution, and dexterity. So the work is worth it.

The training grounds can be divided up into two parts. The first part is a large training circle made up of three concentric rings. The outmost ring is twenty feet in diameter, the next ring is ten feet in diameter, and the innermost ring is five feet in diameter. Rex says we’ll use this area once we start weapons training and we won’t be doing that until my stats get higher.

In the meantime Rex has me working in the second part of the training grounds which is an obstacle course area where I sprint while dragging logs, push boulders up hills, climb ropes, leap across logs set in the ground, and more. Every time I think I’ve pushed my body to the limit Rex is there pushing me to go one more step. I’m still gaining stats in strength, constitution, and dexterity so I know his methods are working. However, I go to bed aching and sore.

In the evenings I practice skills I’d learned that week and help Keans make dinner. I notice that when we make something I’d helped with before it doesn’t raise my [Cooking] skill nearly as much as when we make something new. I guess the skill increases the most when making new recipes. I find this to be a general rule with increasing skills. In the beginning, it was easy to raise the skill since everything was new. However, after a while, the skill would plateau unless I learn new things or find more difficult projects to raise it.

Keans did keep his promise and shows me a plant that can be turned into a weak healing potion, the rubrum plant. It reminds me of a dandelion except it had broad smooth red leaves. It’s found near water sources so I make sure to look for some every time Rex and I walk home from the training area. After a few days, I receive the skill [Herbalism] and find it much easier to locate the plant after that.

Herbalism

You are more likely to find the plants you are looking for. You are also more likely to understand and enhance their attributes.

Level: Novice 1 (1%)

Bonus: 1% chance to find plants. 1% increase in the effect of eaten or prepared plant. You are more likely to inherently understand the attributes of any new plant.

Once I learn the basics of reading Xican, Keans lends me his book on the subject. I don’t quite have the vocabulary yet to fully understand everything in the book but I’ve at least been memorizing the pictures drawn in it.

Since he won’t teach me [Alchemy] until I learn everything from his herbalism book, Keans decides to train me in [Sleight of Hand]. He says it’ll make my hands more dexterous and it’s one of the first things a rogue’s training school teaches.

Sleight of Hand

Want to hide things with a flourish or misdirect your opponent with your hands? Sleight of hand is the skill for you. You gain a bonus to movements with your hands and deception with your hands.

Level: Novice 1 (1%)

Bonus: Your hands move 1% faster. You are 1% more likely to deceive others when using your hands.

Another skill Keans teaches me is [Search]. He says it’s useful in a number of situations including trap finding and spotting hidden enemies or treasure.

Search

Find the hidden things in the world. When searching you increase your chances of finding hidden doors, traps, treasure, people and anything else hidden.

Level: Novice 1 (1%)

Bonus: You are 1% more likely to find hidden things or people.

To practice the skill, at night after dinner, everyone plays a game called Search and Sneak. One person is ‘it’ and they have to find everyone else that is hiding or sneaking around. The person that is ‘it’ uses their [Search] skill to try to find the other players that are using [Hide] or [Sneak]. If a person makes it to a place designated ‘the base’ then they are safe. If they’re caught then it is their turn to be ‘it’. From what everyone tells me it’s a game played by kids to practice stealth and search skills.

To be honest, I find it to be one of my favorite ways to train. Even though I’m usually caught fairly quickly because I have the lowest [Sneak] skill out of everyone, it’s just fun. I feel like a little kid running around at night trying to think of ways to sneak into the base, usually the cabin, without getting caught.

Once when it was Rex’s turn to be ‘it’, I bet Keans that I could beat him to base without getting caught. If Keans won, I’d cook dinner for an entire week. If I won, he had to start teaching me potion making. Now, you have to understand that Keans specializes in stealth. He acts as the group’s scout a lot so he was very confident in his ability to sneak past Rex. So, of course, he accepted my wager.

What Keans didn’t know was that I’d been planning this wager for a week. Unbeknownst to anyone I’d gotten tired of only being able to practice [Herbalism] with only one plant. Mary and I came up with a plan to use Keans’ pride in his stealth abilities against him. Slowly over the course of the last week, I’d used my [Carpentry] skill to cut away part of the floor to my room and dig a secret tunnel under the cabin to the outside. Once Rex started counting and everyone fled in different directions, I used an invisible Mary to let me know when Rex left the base. I knew he’d focus his efforts on finding the sneaky Keans before me. Once Mary informed me that Rex was off chasing after Keans, I used the extra time to double back to my secret entrance and crawl through the tunnel into my room and was ‘safe’ in the main room. It wasn’t very long after when Keans walked through the front door. No doubt thinking he’d beaten me. It was worth all the effort of digging the tunnel when Keans’ smug expression dropped as he saw me sitting there eating an apple at the kitchen table.

Not only would I be starting [Alchemy] training but since the wager counted as a quest, but I got enough experience points from it to finally get to level 2! Search and Sneak is officially my favorite training game.

Name: Armon Ellington

Age: 19

Level: 2

Class: none

Titles: none

Exp to next level: 200

Unspent Stat points: 5

Health: 32

Stamina: 43

Mana: 29

Str: 16

Dex: 17

Con: 18

Int: 12

Wis: 10

Cha: 10

Damage: 3-3

Defense: 6

Skills

Sneak: Novice 6 (32%)

Observe: Novice 4 (21%)

Craftsman: Novice 2 (3%)

Firestarter: Novice 2 (61%)

Cooking: Novice 5 (17%)

Spear Mastery: Novice 3 (44%)

Logging: Novice 4 (89%),

Workhorse: Novice 3 (21%)

Carpentry: Novice 3 (9%)

Construction: Novice 3 (90%)

Knife Mastery: Novice 1 (11%)

Herbalism: Novice 2 (11%),

Sleight of Hand: Novice 3 (1%)

Search: Novice 3 (45%)

Abilities

None

Spells

None

Chapter 3.1

“Woot! Woot! I leveled. No more will they call me ‘Level 1 Armon’. For now, I am the fierce and mighty level 2.” Mary says in a deep voice trying to imitate me.

“That’s not how I sound,” I say exasperated, sitting in my room with just Mary that night. So I might have yelled ‘Woot! Woot!’ a few times after I got the notification that I’d leveled up. I mean it’s a pretty big deal for me. I’ve been training every day for over a month now. Learning to write, read, build the training area, and practice skills. Now I’ve finally leveled! Free hit points, stamina, and mana.

When I told everyone that I’d leveled they were all very excited for me and said we could celebrate by going to the village for a treat. Plus now that I’m level two and have improved my stats a bit, Rex says he can start weapons training with me and Keans says he’ll let me pick a job to complete from the village work board. Lilliandra still says she won’t start teaching me basic magic until I complete the “Learn the Arcane Alphabet” quest. Still, real weapons training and a trip to the village. That’s pretty good.

“Mary, what’s the village like? Will there be a castle? A blacksmith? A magic artifact dealer?”

Looking at an invisible screen for a moment Mary answers, “According to my guide data, the village is called Restrian and is pretty prosperous considering how new it is. It was established ten years ago when a new low-level dungeon was discovered in the area by adventurers. At first, there were only tents where adventurers would rest. However, soon traders starting showing up to sell their goods and buy any treasure adventurers got from the dungeon. Before you knew it people started building shops, farmers came to grow food, and a village sprang up. I don’t know exactly what shops or trades are there currently but expect a decent variety.”

My eyes bulge at her words. Did she say dungeon? As in a place where monsters spawn and there’s treasure? Why in the world have I been cutting trees and learning to read when I could have been slaying monsters and looting treasure chests?

“Don’t go looking at me like that. I knew when I mentioned the dungeon you’d get overexcited. That’s why I didn’t say anything about it before. According to my guide data, the dungeon is recommended for levels 4-7. Remember how you almost died fighting that level 3 horned rabbit? Imagine fighting groups of monsters like that. You’d have died on the first level.”

Sighing in acceptance, I say “You’re probably right Mary. Still, it’s every gamer's dream to fight monsters, get treasure and save the princess.”

“Sorry Armon, the princess is in another castle.” She quips back. “While this world may work like a lot of the games you’ve played, it’s a real place. The monsters you’ll fight want to live as much as you do and will kill to stay that way. There are no extra lives here. Once you die, that’s it. You need to be better prepared if you want to prosper here.”

I nod at Mary but don’t say anything. My brain knows she’s right when she advises me to work and prepare as much as possible before fighting again. But another part of me wants to see how much stronger I’ve gotten after my training and can’t wait. I go to bed conflicted but excited to visit Restrian.

Chapter 3.2

The next morning everyone leaves the cabin early after a light breakfast. The atmosphere, while we walk to Restrian, is light and festive. Rex and Lilliandra walk arm in arm talking softly. Keans and I walk ahead, giving them some privacy.

“You, Rex, and Lilliandra seem like a pretty close group. How long have you all known each other?” I ask while we walk.

“Oh, well you know Rex and m’self have known each other most of our lives. We met Lilliandra the day we joined the adventurer’s guild.” Looking back at the happy couple and laughing he continues, “You would have never thought those two would have gotten married if you knew them then.”

*Flashback*-Viewpoint Keans

After years of hard work, Rex and I had gotten to level 5 and could join the adventurer’s guild. We were sure we’d be living in the lap of luxury now. So, we go to the guild office in Uruthia to formally apply. Once we fill out our paperwork and pay our dues we are led to a room where four other people are already waiting. We’re told that we’re all applicants for the adventurer’s guild but to be accepted we must pass a test. Every year this test is different and this year it has been decided that they’d break the applicants into groups to compete in a treasure hunt of sorts. Five items were hidden throughout the city and each group had to find them all before the given deadline to pass this year’s test. If you failed you had to wait a full year to apply to the guild again.

Immediately three of those waiting formed a group. Leaving Rex, me, and a pointy-eared lass to group up. She introduced herself as, you guessed it, Lilliandra. Right away Rex and Lilliandra butted heads. Just deciding who would lead the group caused an argument. Rex thought it should be him because he was the strongest and was going to be protecting everyone. Lilliandra, being a mage, argued it should be her since she was obviously the smartest of us. They would have stood there all day yelling at each other had I not pointed out that the other group had already left to search for the items.

Still not having a group leader, the three of us hastily grabbed the first clue for the test and left the building. The first clue was some riddle.  Rex and I couldn’t make heads or tails of it but Lilliandra read it once and took off running. We sprinted after her, weaving through traffic. She’s pretty quick when she’s in hurry. We thought we’d lost her near the docks when I spotted her examining some symbol painted on the wall of a building. When we thanked her for waiting for us, she just shushed us and pointed to the symbol. Said it was some sort of arcane mark and that the first item we needed must be inside this building.

There was only one door to the place and it was locked tight. Lilliandra said she could blast the door open but that it would cause a racket. I graciously offered to handle the lock, though. Well, maybe not graciously. I might have called her a loud screeching spell slinger but I had dabbled in the thieving arts in my youth and picked the lock quickly. Once the door was open, Lilliandra pushed her way in first leaving Rex and me to follow. The whole room was dark except for a chest in the middle of the room that was bathed in a pool of light. This was obviously a trap, right? Who leaves a chest in the middle of a dark room? Unfortunately, before I could give warning of my thoughts on the matter, Lilliandra rushed forward to open the chest. The moment she did a booming voice filled the room challenging us to a fight for the right to open the chest. Rex immediately accepted the challenge and a hulking figure entered the room clad in full platemail and holding a sword and shield.

Lilliandra started to chant and wave her fingers through the air thinking she could end all this with some spell. However, the armored figure didn’t let her finish the spell and slammed his shield into her face breaking her concentration and likely her nose. She was knocked back a couple of feet and crumbled to the ground unconscious. Rex rushed the figure trying to beat him with his bare fists but the guy was so well armored that nothing Rex did seem to have any effect. For my part, I disliked the idea of fighting and tried to just steal the item we needed from the chest. However, every time I tried the armored figure would rush to the chest, swing his sword at me, and I’d be forced to retreat. Eventually, Rex ran out of stamina and froze up. Once that happened he too was knocked unconscious and me being a weaker fighter, soon followed. By the time we all woke up, the deadline for the test had passed and we all failed.

We went back to the guild hall to see if we could retake the test and were flatly denied. Lilliandra blamed Rex for the defeat because he didn’t protect her while she was casting her spell. Rex blamed her for running ahead of the group and not working out some plan beforehand. It devolved into name calling and yelling. The guild leader of the branch had to come out and break up the fight between the two. He said that the three of us had one year to learn to work together or none of us would ever be allowed to join the adventurer’s guild.

*end Flashback*

“So after that you all became best friends and Lilliandra and Rex fell in love?” I asked Keans.

“No. Those two still disliked each other. However, we all wanted to join the guild so we worked it out, eventually. There was still plenty of arguing between Rex and Lilliandra but after a few months and a couple of close calls the two at least respected each other. That’s the thing about questing. When your life is on the line you can’t help but grow close to the people around you. You learn to depend on them to watch your back and they on you for the same.

After the year ended we all reapplied to the adventurer’s guild and passed that years test. It turned out to be a tournament battle between six different groups. Since we’d been fighting together for the last year we trounced them all.”

“Then they fell in love?”

“Sorry, no. We were friends by then but there was no love. At least not openly. I’d suspected the two had started to develop feelings for each other but hadn’t realized it yet. I don’t think Rex realized he loved Lilliandra until she got kidnapped by the dark elves a few years later and we went to rescue her. After that the two were inseparable and the rest is history.”

I hear a sniffing sound and when I turn to see where the sound is coming from I see Mary crying while eating from a fairy sized bag of popcorn while flying. “Now that’s love,” she says.

I can only stare and wonder where she got the popcorn from.

Chapter 3.3

While it’s fascinating to hear how the three seemingly inseparable friends came together, I’m practically giddy to check out the village of Restrian. As we walk I notice that forest becomes less dense, the road is more worn, and there are farms along the road with smoke coming from homes. As the morning passes more and more people are on the road with us. Carts pulled by horses pass us on the road and more than a few people nod and greet Rex, Lilliandra, and Keans. A mile away from the village the forest is completely cleared away and you can see that the village is completely surrounded by a wooden palisade.  Rex says the forest is cleared so that monsters or raiders can’t sneak up on the village.

Guards greet Rex, Lilliandra, and Keans as we enter through the main gate of the village with the stream of visitors. I am surprised by the size of the village and the number of different people here. I see people of all shapes and sizes. I see a beastman with tiger ears selling fish, a short purple haired human browsing outside a bookstore, and a rotund woman selling pastries who I could swear had three eyes, all on the same block.

The buildings are no less varied than the people. Some are squat and made of wood, others made of stone and three stories tall. There is even one at the edge of the village that has dozens of smokestacks protruding from it billowing smoke.

A little inside the village entrance Lilliandra pulls me aside. “Here is a gift from the three of us to celebrate your leveling up. Look through all the shops before you decide what you want to spend it on.” She then hands me a single silver coin. I look at the coin in my hand. On one side of the coin is a symbol I don’t recognize and on the other a picture of some old lady.

“A full silver coin? They’re pretty generous. That’s enough to feed a person for a week.” Mary says

Realizing how much Lilliandra has given me I try to return the money to her but she just holds up her hands. “No, Armon. This is a gift from all three of us. It is a tradition for friends and family to give gifts when they level. Nothing expensive usually but we also recognize that you’re going to need a lot if you’re going to progress in your training and be independent one day.”

I get a little misty-eyed and hug Lilliandra. “Thank you for the gift. I’ll be sure to spend it well.” I shake hands with Rex and Keans and thank them too. “I’ve never been to a village before, what should I buy here?”

“I suggest you check out all the shops and stalls. You never know what you’ll like. Though I always have a preference for books and scrolls.” Lilliandra suggests.

“There are a number of traders here that sell armor and weapons. I’d suggest you take a look at those since we’ll be starting weapons training soon. There is also a blacksmith in town that usually has some interesting creations.” Rex advises.

Keans just shrugs and says “You can always buy things later when we get you working. I say you talk to some of the skills trainers that may be around to see what they can teach you.”

I look at the three and can’t decide what I want to do first. They’re all good suggestions.

“Well, whatever you decide you have all day to do so. We all have our own errands to run but meet us back here an hour before sundown. Ok?” Lilliandra says. I nod at her. Then the three of them walk off in different directions leaving me on the street with Mary flying over my shoulder.

I look at Mary and ask “What do you think we should do now?”

“Well, first you should stop talking to me so loudly. Other people can’t see or hear me, so it looks like you're talking to thin air.” Looking around I see that a few people are giving me strange looks. So I just start to whistle, put my hands in my pockets, and walk away. Nothing to see here folks.

“That’s better. Now as for what you should do, I say you do it all. Go into any shop that looks interesting to you and looks around. I’ll let you know if you’re being overcharged for anything.”

I nod, agreeing with Mary and head for the first shop I see. As I enter the shop an overpowering smell fills my nose and I can’t help but cough. I hear Mary coughing too so I know it's not just me that is affected by the smell. Inside the shop is a waist-high counter and display case. Behind the counter are a work and stock area. All along the walls and ceiling hang bundles of drying plants. There is also a table along the far wall with a mortar and pestle and vials connected to circling tubes of glass.  Along the back, wall sits a smoking cauldron above a fire. It's from the cauldron that the smell is coming from.

At the sound of my coughing, a young woman with curly blond hair and blue eyes enters from a back room. She’s a bit taller than me and is wearing brown trousers, a white shirt that is covered by a leather apron and a long sleeved jacket. The jacket has a number of stains and a few burn marks. I also notice the woman has a clothespin pinching her nose closed, giving her voice a nasal tone when says “Oh, hello there. Sorry about the smell, but I’m making a batch of healing potions today. They smell terrible when you make them but they’ll save your life all the same. What can I do for you today?”

“You’re making potions? Does that make you an alchemist then?” I respond.

Looking at me with a raised eyebrow she answers, “Have you never been in an alchemist shop before? Of course, I’m an alchemist. Alchemist Allison is what everyone calls me. Who else would be making and selling potions?” Smiling now, she continues her sales pitch, “We have the best healing potions in town. Guaranteed to save your life or your money back.”

“Is that all you make, healing potions?”

“No, of course not.” She answers in her nasal voice. “Those are just our best sellers. We also make stamina potions, mana potions, and ailment cures. You don’t want to ever face a blinding bat without one of my blindness cures. Even make some poisons for those that walk the rogue’s path. Though not too many want them.”

“Why don’t people want your poisons? Seems like they’d be a great way to add damage in a fight.”

“That’s what I said! Add some poison to your sword, stab a few monsters, and then just wait for them to die. Just rake in the experience points.” Then Allison shrugs, rolls her eyes, and grumbles, “Not my fault some idiot didn’t wipe the poison off his knife before he used it to cut up his dinner.”

“Oh, I guess that would put a damper on poison sales. Well, I’m new in town and was just looking around. Can you tell me how much your potions cost?”

“Sure. Roughly the novice level potions are ten copper a piece, beginner level ones are twenty-five copper and intermediate level ones are sixty. Though poisons aren’t in high demand right now so I could give you a bit of a discount if you bought a couple.”

“What’s the difference between the levels of potions, and why does beginner cost so much more than that of a novice?”

“You’ve really are new, aren’t you? Each level of the potion is more powerful than the previous one. Beginner potions are harder and more costly to make so the higher price reflects that. For example, if a novice healing potion would heal ten hit points over one minute then the beginner quality version would heal twenty hit points. Double the heal, double the price.”

“That makes sense, thank you for explaining. What would I need if I wanted to make my own potions?”

A small smile appears on her face, she crossing her arms in front of her chest and answers, “Oh, only level two but already trying to put me out of business?”

“No, I just think potion making is pretty cool. I was thinking of learning how to make potions and wondering how much it cost and what I’d need.”

Allison’s smile widens. She puffs out her ample chest and looks intently at me. “Finally, someone in this village has an ounce of sense and appreciates the noble art of potion making.” With the exception of the clothespin on her nose, it was an impressive sight.

“Her eyes are up a bit higher,” Mary says in my ear.

Realizing where I was staring, my face blushes and I look up at Allison’s face. She’s still smiling, so maybe she didn’t notice.

Looking at me, Allison tilts her head and casually says “Seems like you’re interested in more than my alchemy skills.” Shit! She noticed. My face must show my sudden panic because she reassures me “Don’t worry about it. Makes a woman feel appreciated when a man looks at her that way. Still, you’re a bit too young for me. I’ve always liked older men.”

I have no idea what to say to that. So I say nothing and try to smile.

“Real smooth Don Juan. Real smooth,” Mary says while laughing.

Allison continues, “A basic alchemy set costs a full silver and if you wanted me to teach you how to make potions it will cost 20 copper per novice recipe.”

Just getting the alchemy set would use up all my money. Though Keans promised me he’d start to teach me some potions recipes so at least I’d save on the lessons.

“I’m sorry Allison. I have limited funds and I’ll have to think about what skills I want to invest my money in. I’ll be back later if I choose to buy the alchemy kit.” She’s a bit disappointed but understands that I have limited funds.

As I walk out of the alchemy shop, a breeze hits my face and I inhale deeply. I never thought I’d think air could smell this good. I continue walking through town peeking in a variety of shops to see what they sell.

Chapter 3.4

Unfortunately, I run into the same problem in many shops that I did in Allison’s. I can either afford to buy inexpensive one-time use items or a single expensive one. In one shop a gnome tailor in a bright red suit offers to make me custom clothing for five silver. In a trader’s shop, I can afford to buy a hundred feet of rope or one piece of novice armor. I can afford to buy a basic weapon made of bronze but think it’s premature of me to pick one since I haven’t even started weapons training yet. The bookstore is the worst, though. They have two spell books available but they cost twenty silver each and they are for novice level spells.

The skill trainers are a little better. On average, it costs twenty copper to learn the basics of that skill and another twenty copper for the basic kit for that skill. It might have something to do with the local dungeon but the number of people willing to train me in basic combat skills and abilities is staggering. I can learn [Backstab], [Power Attack], [Hide], [Shield Bash], [Double Slash], and [Cleave]. However, I find the number of people who could teach me crafting skills to be much lower. There is only one tailor, tanner, scribe, and alchemist in town and they all seemed eager to teach me their trade. I get the distinct impression that very few adventurers are interested in learning to craft and most only want to learn things that helped them in combat.

Oddly there are two blacksmiths. One is run by one of the largest men I’ve ever seen in my life. He is bald, at least seven feet tall and has shoulders as broad as an ox. He wears only leather trousers and a leather apron while he works his blazing forge. He’s very friendly and most people in the village seemed to go to him for repairs or custom weapons. The price of his weapons and armor start at fifty silver, though, putting them out of my price range.

The second blacksmith works out of one of the strangest buildings I’ve ever seen. It is located on the outskirts of town farthest from the main entrance. It is painted all black and has a dozen smokestacks protruding from it. Entering the building I expect to be assaulted by heat like I had at the other blacksmiths but it is surprisingly cool. About half the building seems to be dedicated to some kind of show or work room. While there isn’t a forge in the room, there are shelves and benches along all the walls. Everything seems to be covered in metal objects, leather, screws, gears, and tools. In one corner of the room, I even see a large cylinder made of copper with valves and tubes running from it into the wall. If a bench or shelf doesn’t hold a tool it seems to hold some weird object. I see an object that looks like a hand mixer crossed with a curved sword, an axe with three handles, and an etched plate with a floating crystal above it.

As I stand to look around the room in wonder I hear a high pitched voice screech, “What do you want?”  I look around but don’t see anyone. “I asked you ‘what do you want?’ Either answer or leave. I’m a very busy goblin.” Looking for the source of the sound I see a series of brass tubes coming down through the ceiling. One of which has a large cone attached at the end. It’s from these speaking pipes that the voice emanates.

Feeling a little embarrassed talking to a piece of metal, I look at the cone and answer loudly, “Hello? My name is Armon. I was wondering what you sell here?”

“Just wondering or do you actually intend to buy something?” the voice shrilled.

Feeling a little annoyed at being questioned, I respond, “That depends on what’s for sale and the reasonableness of the prices.” Knowing the owner of the voice probably couldn't see me I point at the axe with three handles and ask, “How much is that?”

Some words I don’t understand come from the tube. “Goblin curse words,” Mary tells me. I hear a loud banging and clatter from another room. Then a door in back opens and in walks a strange little green man in gray overalls hefting a large wrench on his shoulder. He is bald, has big black eyes, and pointed ears so large they stick out above his head. Walking up to the counter he disappears behind it until he climbs up a step stool.

Placing the wrench on the counter between us he crosses his arms, looks up at me and says “Which piece of my masterwork collection did you want to know the price of?” While his voice is still high pitched and grating, at least he’s not yelling. I point at the axe with three handles again. “Not for sale. That is a custom weapon created for tri-armed races,” he says in a clipped manner.

“I didn’t know there were any races with three arms,” I say to him. Mary whispers in my ear, “That’s because there aren't’ any. This one seems like a nut.”

Narrowing his eyes at me he responds, “Just because you’ve never seen them doesn’t mean they don’t exist...somewhere.” Raising one finger in the air and leaning forward, he continues in a dramatic tone, “I am not just a blacksmith. I am Dyblex, the world famous inventor. I make the impossible possible. I create magnificent works of art. I transform everyday objects into powerful artifacts and I turn dreams into reality.”

“Ask if he can make bulls from bullshit too,” Mary mumbles.

I cough into my fist to cover the laugh that bubbles forth. “Excuse me. Something in my throat.” I smile and extend my hand to the goblin. “It’s very nice to meet you Dyblex.”

He looks at me for a moment with suspicion in his eyes, then hesitantly takes my hand and shakes it. “The honor is all yours human.”

“I’ve never met a world famous inventor before. Did you invent all this great stuff?” I say, gesturing towards the cluttered room.

Smiling with needle-like teeth at the compliment, Dyblex answers, “Most of it, yes. Though I do admit I built on the shoulders of the giant goblins that came before me.” Pointing at a giant tool that reminds me of a drill press with pipes connected to it, “For example, the Borer there uses the pressure principles developed by the Ackmedius, the famous goblin theorist.” Pointing at the cross between a hand mixer and sword he continues, “That is a modification of a goblin device used to braid rope. I modified the crank mechanism to be used as a weapon. Stab your enemy with the sword part then use the hand crank to rip them apart.” Dyblex’s smile widens showing even more pointed teeth.

I grimace at the last description. Hoping to get him off the gruesome weapons, I point to the device with the floating crystal. “How about that? Did you invent that too?”

His smile fading he uses a ladder to retrieve the floating crystal and its engraved baseplate. Looking at it up close, I can see that the perfect blue crystal is the size of my palm and the copper baseplate is engraved with numerous arcane symbols.

“That is a work in progress. It is part of a brief collaboration between myself and a mage I hired. I theorize that magic spells can be given permanence through magical engraving and powered by mana crystals. This is an experiment to prove my theory. I paid a mage I was acquainted with to draw out all the arcane symbols I’d need, then I engraved them onto this baseplate. I connected the mana crystal to the spell engraving for the light spell.” Sighing and scratching his chin with sharp looking fingernails he continues, “The crystal is properly connected since it’s floating but the light spell just won’t activate.”

“That is a fascinating theory. From what my teacher has told me, part of what makes magic users vulnerable is the time it takes to air write and cast spells. If you could pre-write the spell and power it with a premade magical power source that would eliminate that vulnerability.” Leaning to look at the crystal I ask, “May I take a closer look at the base plate? I don’t claim to know much about magic but I know a few arcane symbols.” Shrugging, Dyblex nods his consent.

“Be careful Armon. Magical experiments like this can be very dangerous,” Mary hisses.

Paying Mary little heed, I examine the baseplate closely. As I thought I don’t recognize most of the arcane symbols. However, most of the symbols extend from the middle of the plate right under the crystal. There’s one arcane symbol I do recognize. It’s the core symbol for light. Focusing on that one I examine every detail of it and notice that one line near the bottom isn’t quite right. Pointing to that place I say, “This isn’t right. This line here should have a small curve at the very bottom.”

The goblin looks where I’m pointing and then at me, “No, you’re mistaken. I copied every arcane symbol I was given perfectly.” Going to a draw in the back he rummages around for a while then produces a stack of papers. “See here. This is what the mage I paid gave me. The engraving is exactly the same.”

Looking at the page I nod. “That is true good Dyblex. Your workmanship is impeccable. That is an exact copy of what is on that page. However, the symbol for light is the first one my master taught me and she drilled into me every single line and curve of it into my brain. It should have a small curve at the end of this bottom line. If you have a bit of paper and something to write with I’ll draw how it should look for you.”

Looking at me with disbelief he hands me a small piece of paper and a pencil. Very carefully I draw out the arcane symbol for light on the paper and hand it to the goblin. He compares the two symbols side by side then says “I see where the difference is but I paid a mage good money to write out all the symbols I need for this experiment. You expect me to take your word over his?”

“I expect nothing of the kind. Test it. If I’m correct, maybe your project will work. If not you’re no worse off.”

Dyblex looks at me for a minute and just scratches his chin. Then he reaches under the counter and pulls out a small bag which he empties in front of me. There are a small hammer and a variety of sharp pins with long thick handles. Taking the paper I drew the light symbol on, Dyblex copies the change to the crystals baseplate with a pencil.

Taking one of the pin-like objects in one hand, he places the sharp point on the baseplate and taps it with the hammer slowly removing material. After several minutes of concentrated work, Dyblex blows the last of the metal shavings away from the plate and stands back. Nothing happens. “You see, you stupid human. That arcane symbol I paid for was correct. Now I have…”

Dyblex stops talking mid-sentence as the symbols on the base plate begins to glow bright blue. Eyes wide, we both stare at the object as a bright blue globe of light the size of a baseball appears above the floating crystal. I hear a high pitched scream and see Dyblex holding his head and tears running down his face.

You have completed the hidden quest “Help Dyblex”. By helping the goblin Dyblex you have helped complete a long-stalled research project and advanced the field of magical engraving. Reward: Maximum reputation with Dyblex. Access to the skill [Magical Engraver], a beginners set of magical engraver’s tools or an alternative “special” reward.

Wisdom +1

Thinking something about the light is hurting Dyblex I wave away the notification and grab the goblin by the shoulders and ask “Are you ok?”

Looking at me he yells, “Am I ok? Am I ok? Yes, I’m ok! I’m more than ok.” He hugs me with his small arms then looks me in the eyes and licks my cheek with his slimy tongue.

I push him away and wipe the slime from my cheek. “What was that for?”

“I have engraved these symbols in hundreds of combinations and worked on this experiment for three years and never succeeded. Then you walk in and point out the one small curve that finally makes it all work. I love you! I think I’ll take you as a mate.”

Charisma +1

Taking a step back I can only stare open-mouthed at Dyblex. ‘Mate’?

“Goblins can’t kiss like humans since they don’t have lips. Instead, they lick each other.” Mary informs me while slapping her knee and laughing. “I guess she’s pretty happy you helped her experiment work if she’s willing to mate with a human. Aren’t you lucky?”

She? Looking at Dyblex with wide eyes, I stammer, “Wait you’re a she?”

Chapter 3.5

Mary is still laughing as we leave Dyblex’s smith. How was I supposed to know Dyblex is a female? She’s the first goblin I’ve ever met.

“Ha, ha. Everyone knows male goblins have short stubby ears. Female goblins have long ears. Heck, the longer the ears the more popular the female. From the way you were looking at Allison I figured you liked females with large...assets.” Mary teased.

Dyblex was very understanding when I told her that I was not interested in mating with her. Instead, she was happy to gift me a magical engraving tool set and instruct me in the basic theory behind the skill.

Magical engraving is the process of permanently or semi-permanently applying a spell effect to an object or area. Traditionally, high-level spellcasters will carve or write out the spell they want to apply then pour mana into the engraving to set the spell into the material. Materials with low endurance like paper will only hold simple spells and are destroyed after one use. More durable materials like wood, stone, or metal can hold more complex spells and are not destroyed. The process of spell engraving not only costs more mana than traditional casting but also cost the engraver experience points, permanently. The higher the spell level the more mana and experience points it costs to engrave. This is one of the reasons higher level spellcasters use this skill, they can afford to lose the experience points.

When someone wants to use an engraved spell they then say an activation phrase and the spell is cast like normal, including the normal mana cost. Because it costs the engraver a permanent loss of experience points, items with engraved spells cost a lot. Also, even simple engraved spells could be used by anyone with mana. Which puts them in high demand, driving up prices even more.

To use an engraved spell the user had to maintain contact with the object. What Dyblex was experimenting with was eliminating not only the magical cost of using these items but the necessity to be in physical contact with them. Magic crystals are a relatively common way for mages to instantly restore mana. According to Mary, if perfected, this could revolutionize the magical world.

Unfortunately, while I might be able to engrave the few arcane symbols I know I don’t understand enough magical theory or know enough arcane symbols to practice or learn the skill [magical engraving]. Still, as soon as I start learning spells from Lilliandra I plan to learn the skill. It’s just too promising. In my mind, I imagine using technology from my old world here to industrialize the creation of magical items. Imagine using a printing press to mass produce spell scrolls. I could create an entirely new industry here. If I could get the secret to Dyblex’s use of magic crystals then the possibilities would be endless. Magically powered lights anyone could use or even magic power armor!

After leaving Dyblex’s shop Mary and I walk around the village while I make plans for the future. Industrializing magic is going to take a lot of capital. Especially since I’ll have to refine every innovation by trial and error.

“Mary, what’s the fastest way to make money around here?”

“Hmm, you can make a pretty good living as a craftsman, making things adventurers can use. You can also take jobs from the work board in town but only the difficult jobs pay well. Or you could be a dungeon delver. The treasures you get from killing monsters can be very lucrative at higher levels. However, it is a bit risky since you’re always fighting monsters.”

Risky, huh? Well, no risk no reward. “Let’s go take a look at that work board to see what we can do.”

Walking back to the center of the village near the other blacksmith’s shop, I see a large wooden wall about six feet high. On it are posted bits of paper with words and numbers and a nice group of people surround the wall. A person looks at the postings then takes one down and walks away. As I approach the board I look at the other people looking at it. Most are garbed in leather and metal and carry a variety of pointy weapons. Others are dressed in cloth and have either wands or staffs with them. Only one fellow is almost completely covered in metal armor and he carries a large shield. When I examine him I see he’s level 7. Must be one of the higher level adventurers around.

Looking at the work board I see a large variety of jobs available. Roughly the types of jobs seem to fall into one of three categories, collection, killing, or specialty. Collection jobs involve gathering some resource someone else needs. For example, Allison the alchemist has a post asking for herbs and other ingredients for her potions. The tanner wants animal and monster hides, a carpenter wants wood, and both the smiths want metal ore. Killing jobs involve, well killing things. The town has a job listing for someone to reduce the horned rabbit population and a farmer has posted a job asking someone to kill the wolves bothering his sheep. The specialty jobs seem to pay more but are also more difficult. There is a job asking for someone to deal with some bandits in the woods that are robbing merchants and some old lady wants help finding her lost brooch.

Since there’s no time limit on the jobs from the alchemist or for killing the horned rabbits I decide to take those jobs. I figure I can collect herbs while I hunt down some horned rabbits.

With new goals in mind and the day coming to an end, Mary and I go to meet Lilliandra, Rex, and Keans. The three are waiting for me near the entrance to the village.

While walking back to the cabin Lilliandra asks, “How did your day in the village go? What did you end up buying to celebrate your first level up?”

“I didn’t buy anything actually.”

I tell the three of them about my day looking for the perfect way to spend the money, researching the costs of equipment, trainers, and how I got the tools for magical engraving. All three were laughing loudly after I told them how I didn’t realize Dyblex was female.

Keans was rolling on the floor howling. “I can’t believe she offered to mate with you. You two would have had beautiful children.” Keans said between gasps of laughter.

While Lilliandra was polite enough to try to cover her laughter with her hand, Rex roared with unabashed delight.

By the time everyone stopped laughing we’d reached home. Going inside I helped Keans make dinner and explained my plan to improve magical engraving. Lilliandra sat at the table listening to me explain some of the ideas I had.

“Some of those ideas have merit but you’ll have to increase your magical training and the experience you’re gaining to accomplish them,” Lilliandra comments.

“That means we’ll have to change the way we’re training,” Rex adds.

“That’s what I was thinking. I have a goal now so I don’t think that I need to train so broadly anymore. Sure there are skills I’m going to need to get money but I think crafting items is the path I’m choosing to pursue,” I tell them.

Lilliandra and Rex look at each other and smile. “Ok, you won the bet,” Rex tells her.

“Huh?” I ask.

Laughing lightly Lilliandra explains that after I’d told them that one of the first things I did was make a spear to survive in the forest, she knew that I was going to be a crafter. Rex had bet that I’d chose to be a fighter or mage.

“Well, he will still need extensive training in magic. If anything it is a lot harder to be a magical engraver than a traditional spellcaster. Not only do you still need to be able to cast spells but you need to understand them well enough to create useful items that can incorporate them. Plus the rate you level slows down because you are sacrificing experience points to practice your skill or create items. That is why most magical engravers already have high levels,” Lilliandra tells Rex.

“Well, we promised to support Armon. So even though you’re not going to need most of the skills Keans and I use we’re still here to help you.” Rex assures me.

“Thanks, everyone. I’m still going to need everyone’s help to prepare myself for this path, though. Rex, while I may use magic, I still plan to learn how to use some weapons. I’m not so foolish to think magic is the solution to every problem. Keans, you still have to train me in [Alchemy] and I’ll need help to learn all the [Herbalism] plants too.”

Before going to bed I remember that I haven’t assigned the free stat points I gained when I reached level 2. Looking over my character sheet I see my training with Rex has increased strength, constitution, and dexterity quite a bit. However, my other stats are not as well developed. I decide to put all five free stat points into intelligence since I’ll need all the mana I can get when I start to cast spells.

Chapter 3.6

The next morning Lilliandra begins the lesson by explaining the basics of casting magic. Spell casting contains both written and verbal components.

The written component provides the structure of the spell. At least one arcane symbol forms the core of the spell and any modifying symbols change that spell. For example, the symbol for ‘light’ gathers that element where ever it’s written. Want a globe of light? Just adding the modifying symbol ‘sphere’ is not enough. When creating shapes you must also add modifiers for size and dimension.

The verbal component connects the casters mana source to that written structure to power the spell. Any imperfection in either component and the spell fails or, even worse, the magic feeds back and hurts the caster.

While I have memorized the ten arcane symbols assigned to me I still can’t perfectly reproduce all of them. I have light, dark, water, and fire down. But I’m still making small mistakes for the earth, air, force, self, life, and death symbols. For the next week, I diligently practice writing and pronouncing each of the symbols until I can perfectly reproduce each.

Having decided to just focus on a few weapon forms, each day after lunch I spend two hours working with Rex on the basic forms of the spear, the spear and shield, and unarmed combat.  I already have [Spear Mastery] and it only takes a few days to gain the basic skills [Shield Mastery] and [Unarmed Combat Mastery]. However gaining the skill and becoming good enough to use the skills in combat are different things.

The practice spear I use is seven feet tall and is padded at the tip. The shaft of the spear is wooden and is much straighter than the spear I made in the forest.

Using a shield is a lot more complicated than it looks. Someone who has mastered the shield uses it not only to block damage but also deflects the attacker’s blow while setting them up for a return attack at the same time. According to Rex, the key to using the shield is to not take a blow directly but angle the shield so the force is deflected away from the body. This means moving the body around as much as the shield.

Rex made me carry both shield and spear while moving through the obstacle course we’d built. I learn to adjust how I carry both running up hills, climbing over logs, balancing on poles, and climbing ropes. He said that he wanted me to feel comfortable with the weapons no matter where I traveled.

After learning the basics of the spear and shield, Rex spars with me. That is definitely the worst. Rex faces me with a number of different weapons to teach me how they can be used and countered with a spear or spear and shield. He bashes me with a mace, slashes me with a sword, and stabs me with a rapier. He even uses a spear to show me how other fighters would try to handle my spear work.

Facing off against Rex did teach me the many ways a spear can be employed. Two handed, the weapon has amazing power and flexibility. I could stab with the tip, slash with the sharpened edge, or even bash with the butt of the spear. I could also block with the shaft like it was a quarterstaff. As long as I kept moving, the added reach of the spear also means that I can attack while staying out of range of most of the weapons Rex used. Not that I could ever score a hit on the more experienced fighter.

Using the spear one handed with a shield provides great defense. Though coordinating the two is more complicated, the extra protection is worth it. While not as powerful as using the spear with two hands, I can still use the one-handed thrust Rex taught me to stab at an opponent. Using the side of the shield as a guide for the spear adds some stability and improves accuracy too. Unfortunately, while I still had a greater reach with the spear, I lost some of the offensive power. Using a shield and spear became a much more tactical experience. A waiting game where I’d have to look for an opportunity to pierce or slash with the spear while protecting myself with the shield.

Even though we spar with padded wooden weapons Rex finds plenty of holes in my defenses and bruises me whenever he strikes. They say pain is the great teacher. If that’s the case I earn my Ph.D. training with Rex. Every night I come back to the cabin bruised and sore. Lilliandra has to heal me just so I can sit down for dinner. While we eat dinner I read the herbalism book and am tested by Keans on both the appearance and uses of the plants I read about. Once I correctly identify all the basic plants in the book Keans agrees to teach me the novice level recipes for [Alchemy].

You have learned Novice Healing potion recipe.

You have learned Novice Stamina potion recipe.

You have learned Novice Mana potion recipe.

Examining the healing potion recipe I find it to be a lot simpler than I thought it would be.

Novice Health Potion Recipe

Take the red leaves of the Rubrum plant and grind into a thick paste. Soak paste in hot water until mixture has turned red. Additional alchemy techniques may increase the potency of potion. Adding additional material may add or change the properties of potion.

The stamina and mana potions are similar to the health potion. Instead of using the red leaves of the Rubrum plant I have to use the yellow leaves of the Crocus plant for the stamina potion, and the blue leaves from the Azureus plant for the mana potion.

I’ve been preparing for my lessons in [Alchemy] with Keans and have already gathered the Rubrum plants. I remove the leaves from the plants and place them in the mortar and pestle from Keans’ alchemy kit. I grind the leaves until they become a thick paste. I place the paste into a pot and slowly pour the hot water from the kettle I heated up. Slowly the water turns pink and then red.

You’ve created a Novice Health potion

You've learned the skill [Alchemy].

Novice Healing Potion

The most basic of potions. Will heal you when consumed for 5 health over 1 minute.

Wait. Only five health healed? Allison’s health potions heal for double that.

When I ask Keans why the alchemist's potions heal more, he explains that as I increase my [Alchemy] skill, the effects of my potions will get better. He says that I can also pay a trainer to learn special crafting techniques that will further increase my potion potency. Allison being much higher ranked in alchemy has already done both.

To gain experience towards my next level, I decide that every fifth and sixth day I will work on completing quests I pick up in town. This week I’ll work on the two quest I already have.

Collect Herbs for the Alchemist

Allison the Alchemist needs herbs to make her potions. Collect the leaves of the Viride, Crocus, Azureus, or Rubrum plants.

Reward: Variable. 5 copper per bunch of 20 of the same type of herb.

Thin the rabbit herd

The village council is concerned about the number of horned rabbits in the forest. Kill at least five horned rabbits to complete the quest.

Reward: Variable. 1 copper per horned rabbit killed.

With my improved stats, I’m approximately as strong as someone who is level 5 and never did extra training. Killing horned rabbits is much easier even though I only use my training spear and shield. With my increased strength, every time I hit the horned rabbit I do four points of damage. Level 1 horned rabbits die after only four normal hits. Even though it takes seven hits to kill a level 3 horned rabbit they aren’t as hard to defend against as Rex during training. Using my shield I just wait until the rabbit attacks then take the hit on the shield twisting my body at the last minute and stabbing with my spear one handed. Using this method I take minimal damage while killing horned rabbits.

Between fights, I gather herbs to complete the quest for Allison the Alchemist. The [Herbalism] training with Keans makes this part of the quest easy. I know exactly what each plant looks like and gather three to four leaves from each plant I find.

By the end of the first day of questing, I’ve killed twenty horned rabbits and collected thirty Viride, twenty-nine Crocus, twenty-five Azureus, and thirty-three Rubrum plants. The horned rabbits dropped fur, meat, and two horns. Selling the rabbit fur to the tanner and in town, I make fifteen copper. Turning in the quest to Allison I make a total of twenty copper earned 5 XP and even learned that if I ground up the horns I had I could increase the potency of my stamina potions. The village gave me twenty copper and I got 10 XP for completing “Thin the rabbit herd”.

I return to the cabin just as the sun was setting with plenty of rabbit meat for dinner. I use the vegetables we have and the meat to make a thick stew. The recipe was one Keans showed and even though I don’t raise my [Cooking] skill I still enjoy cooking for everyone. Sitting down to eat dinner I tell everyone about my first day of questing. I tell them how easy it was to deal with the horned rabbits and Rex slaps me on the back.

“Of course it’s easier Armon. You’ve been training nonstop for almost two months. You’ve busted your rump logging, digging, and training with the spear and shield. Did you think none of that would pay off?” he asked.

“It’s just that seeing the progress didn’t really hit me until I fought that first level 3 horned rabbit. When I was alone in the forest it almost killed me. Now it’s a piece of cake.” Tearing up a bit I continue, “Thank you, everyone, for helping me get stronger. I don’t think I could have made this much progress without all your help.” Everyone hugs and laughs before heading off to bed.

Chapter 3.7

The next morning in bed I talk to Mary.

“What are your plans now that you don’t have to fear every horned rabbit you see?” Mary asks.

“I have today set aside for more questing. I think I’ll head into town to buy some proper equipment and pick up some more difficult quests.” I answer.

After getting dressed I head to the main room of the cabin. The sun is barely up so no one else in the cabin is up. I leave them a note letting them know where I’ll be today and to expect me back this evening. I grab some fruit to eat for breakfast and head out the door.

I head towards the village at a brisk pace and arrive after only a few hours. The guards are still yawning as I walk through the front gates of the village and I nod to them in greeting. Only a few people are walking around this early, mostly shops owners getting prepared for the day. I head to the village work board first to see what jobs are available. There is a long list of jobs available with a variety of difficulties.

“Here’s a collection quest for Troll blood. It pays a five silver per vial. That sounds great.” I tell Mary. Mary flies right up to my face and hits me. “Owww. What was that for?”

“I hit you because you’re being stupid. Most trolls are at least level 8 and are almost impossible to kill because they regenerate health almost as quickly as you can hit them. You usually have to have a mage with fire magic to stop them regenerating just to have a chance. They also have a lot of health and they’re super strong and would squash you with a single blow.”

Ouch, that definitely puts trolls on my ‘do not fight’ list. “Well, you don’t have to hit me. Just help me find a quest I can do. Something tougher than bunny hunting but not as tough as troll hunting.”

“How about this quest to help an old lady put her husband’s ghost to rest?”

I get the hebe jebes at the mention of ghosts. “Ack, no way. I’m not comfortable with ghosts.”

Mary starts humming the Ghostbusters’ theme song and adds “What’s the problem? Just don’t cross your streams and you're solid.”

“You’ve seen the Ghostbusters movie? How much time did you spend researching my old world?”

“Only a couple decades. Hardly any time at all.”

A couple of decades? I wonder how old that makes her. “Umm, Mary...”

Hovering in midair, she raises a single eyebrow at me and crosses her arms across her chest.

I can read the mood and quickly change my question “...see any other good quests?”

Looking at me like she knew exactly what I was going to ask, she purses her lips and turns back to the work board. “Yeah, here is one you can handle. A farmer outside of the village says he’s having problems with some kobolds stealing his sheep.”

Not wanting to get hit again for making assumptions about some monster I ask, “Are kobolds tough?”

“Not individually. One alone is about as tough as a horned rabbit. They get dangerous in groups, though.”

Looking at the posting I get a notification

Kobold Chaos

Fred, representing the local farmers has requested aid in dealing with a group of kobolds that are stealing his sheep and other local livestock.

Reward: 1 silver, improved reputation with local farmers

Accept of Decline?

Mary thinks I can handle this, so I accept the quest. I’m not sure how long this is going to take so I don’t take any more quests and head over to Dyblex’s smith to see if she has any weapons or armor I can buy. She’s the vendor I have the best reputation with so I might as well see what kind of discount I can get.

Walking through town I see most of the shops have begun opening their doors but I pass them all in favor of getting these larger purchases out of the way. If I still have money left over, I’ll stop by the other shops later.

As I approach Dyblex’s shop I see smoke coming from the smokestacks so I know someone is working inside. I walk through the front door, the bell above the door rings, and I hear Dyblex yell through the speaking pipes. “What do you want?”

“Dyblex, it’s me, Armon,” I yell at the pipes.

I hear a high pitched squeee and see Dyblex running from the back room. When she sees me the tips of her long ears turn red, she brushes some dust from her shirt and walks up to the steps behind the counter. Looking me in the eyes and smiling with a mouth full of sharp teeth she says “Well, if it isn’t my favorite human. Change your mind about my ‘private’ offer?”

Blushing slightly, I cough into my hand to cover my embarrassment. “Thank you but I still have to decline your offer. I came by today because I took a quest that might involve some fighting and I need some weapons and armor. I was wondering if that’s something you sell?”

Suddenly snarling, she says “Who are you fighting? I’ll rip their faces off! No one messes with my delicate flower.”

Mary begins laughing and slapping her knee, “You hear that ‘delicate flower’? She’ll fight to protect your honor.”

“Umm, thanks for the offer but it’s part of a quest. I need the experience so I have to take care of it myself.”

Calming down, Dyblex bats her eyelashes at me and says. “Oh, well I can support it when my human is trying to get stronger.”

“Better watch out or before you know it she’ll be trying to put a ring on it. And I don’t mean your finger.” Mary says between laughing fits.

Ignoring Mary, I smile, shake my head and tell the goblin, “Dyblex, I’m not your human.”

“Not yet,” she says while smiling at me. “As far as weapons and armor go, I can make anything you need. I usually tell people it’ll be a week. For you, I can have it ready in two days.”

“I was hoping to get something today. Do you have anything that’s already made?”

“I have plenty of weapons I’ve made that you can take today but metal armor has to be custom fitted to each person. What type of weapon were you looking for?”

“I use a spear and shield.”

“I have a few spears and couple of shields I could show you.”

Dyblex walks down the steps behind the counter and goes into the backroom. I hear her moving items around and when the backroom door opens again she’s pushing a cart with several spears and shields piled on it. She pushes the cart up to the counter and unloads the merchandise. She lays out three spears and two shields. Looking closely at each item brings up a window that describes the item and gives a price.

Masterwork Spinning Trident

This experimental spear has three heads and spins when special mode activated. The spinning causes extra damage but also makes it harder to control. The spinning mechanism must be reset when all charges used.

Damage: 10-15 normal, additional 5 damage per second when spinning. Due to the difficulty in controlling special feature, activating spinning costs 10 stamina per second.

Charges: 3/3

Durability: 30/30

Cost: 20 silver

Masterwork Spear of Penetration

This experimental spear has a spring in the shaft that adds penetrating power when activated. The mechanism must be manually reset after each use.

Damage: 10-15 normal, bonus 5 damage when spring activated.

Durability: 30/30

Cost: 10 silver

Interchangeable Spear

This experimental spear allows for different spearheads to be attached to the spear shaft. Though not as durable as other spears it allows for a variety of attacks.

Damage: Dependent on spear head attachment. 5-7 normal (slash/pierce), 4-6 piercer (ignores 2% defense), 1-3 non-lethal;

Durability: 15/15

Cost: 2 Silver

Bashing Shield of Spikiness

A large tower shield made completely out of metal. It has large protruding spikes on the front that an enemy might impale themselves on. Each spike may be fired individually as a ranged weapon.

Defense: 20   Damage: 3-5, Stamina Cost: 5 per spike shot.

Durability: 30/30

Spikes: 6/6

Cost: 20 silver

Hidden Shield

This experimental shield is made of wood and has pockets and spaces on the inside to hide objects or weapons.

Defense: 10

Durability: 15/15

Cost: 2 Silver

I immediately dismiss the most expensive items. I only have one silver and fifty-five copper to spend. Maybe if I turn up the charm I can get Dyblex to lower the prices.

“Dyblex, you have outdone yourself with these weapons. Who would have thought to make a spear with interchangeable spear heads or place extra pockets on a shield? Only a genius, that’s who.”

Dyblex’s ears turn red again and she says “You are a flatterer human. I can see right through your attempts to lower the price.” She then leans over the counter, closer to me, “Keep going.”

Damn. That’s all I had prepared. “Ummm...the quality of the craftsmanship is only matched by your beauty.”

Charisma +1

Mary nods her head in approval, “Not bad Don Juan.”

Dyblex holds up her hand to stop me from continuing, and purrs at me “Stop, or you’ll have to satisfy me in the back room. I’ll give you 30% off the price of anything you want, but that’s it.”

Doing the math in my head. That means it’ll still cost me two silver and eighty copper. “I’m sorry, I’d really love to buy the ‘interchangeable spear’ and the ‘hidden shield’ but I only have one silver and fifty-five copper to my name. I’m short.”

Dyblex looks at me with a sly look in her eyes and says, “Don’t worry about the difference. You can owe it to me. I’ll give you a whole week to pay me the silver and twenty-five copper.” Chuckling, as if telling a joke she continues, “If you don’t pay me back in a week, though, I’ll consider it part of your dowry.”

“Be careful, something seems fishy here,” Mary warns.

She’ll loan me the money? I’ll get a silver from completing the kobold quest and I should be able to collect some more herbs along the way or sell some of the loot from the kobolds to cover the rest. “I accept.”

You’ve entered into a private contract with Dyblex. In exchange for the items ‘Interchangeable Spear’ and ‘Hidden Shield’ you will pay her 1 silver and 55 copper immediately. You will also pay her an additional 1 silver and 25 copper within 7 days. Should you fail to pay, your debt will be considered part of your dowry and you will be legally married to Dyblex.

Shit.

Chapter 4.1

“Ok. Don’t panic. Don’t panic. I’m going to finish this quest and pay Dyblex back. I am not going to have to marry her. Everything will be just fine.” I repeat these sentences over and over in my mind as I breathe deeply outside Dyblex’s shop.

“Way to go Mr. Dyblex. You’ve gotten yourself into quite the pickle now haven’t you?” Mary chides.

“That’s not funny Mary! I won’t become Mr. Dyblex. I’m leaving right now to finish this quest with the kobolds.” Having said that I put my new shield and spear into my inventory and begin running towards the entrance to the village. Mary trails behind me until we reach the entrance.

“Which way to farmer Fred?” I ask Mary.

Mary looks at some screen I can’t see and tells me, “Follow me.”

Mary leads me out of the village and down a wide dirt road east. We follow the road for an hour then turn onto a smaller path leading onto a farm. The farm has rows of budding crops and stalks of some vegetable that’s as tall as I am. We follow the path until I see a one story building with a wooden porch attached to the front. I slow down to a walk as a large brown dog with black spots on the porch starts barking.

A tall gangly man in overalls comes out of the house holding a pitchfork. I wave as I approach. “Good morning. Are you Fred, the farmer that posted about the Kobolds?”

“Yup, that’s me.” He says pointing his thumb at his chest. “You the one that’s taken the job?”

“Yes, sir. I’d like to get some information from you, though, so I can sort this all out as soon as possible.”

Running his hand through his dirty blonde hair he says, “Hmmph. At least you seem to see the urgency in the situation. What’d you want to know?”

“Can you tell me everything you know about the situation?”

Scratching his chin he answers, “Bout a month ago I noticed some odd tracks when I was taking my sheep out to pasture. I didn't’ think much of it till a couple days later when a sheep went missing from the flock. When I checked the last place I’d seen the sheep I saw those same tracks again. When I asked around, a couple other neighbors said they’d had hens and pigs go missing too.  I asked my neighbor Jeb about it later and he said they were kobold tracks. He said he’d seen them before when he was an adventurer. Before he settled down to farming. Jeb said I should put up a job posting in town about it and then some of the adventurers would come clear them all out.”

“Well, that’s me. Here to take care of it all. Can you show me that last place you saw these tracks?”

“Sure.” He answers and then leads me behind his home past the barn into the hills. Walking behind Fred and his dog I see a flock of sheep grazing ahead of us in an open field near some trees. Fred and the dog walk around the sheep towards the trees. He points at a patch of muddy ground. “There’s the last place I’ve seen the kobold tracks. They took another one of my sheep just yesterday.”

“Thank you, Fred, I’ll be sure to sort this out.” As I lean down to study the tracks Fred and his dog wander away leaving Mary and me alone.

Gesturing to the mess of tracks, I ask, “So, what do you think Mary?”

“These do seem like kobold tracks. From what I see, there were at least three of them. They took the sheep and went off in that direction.” she responds, pointing towards the trees on the outskirts of the forest.

Three? I could only make out two sets of tracks and the sheep. I nod at Mary and lie, “Just like I thought, three kobolds. Let's track them down.”

Following the tracks into the forest, we continue to head east away from the village.

“Mary, I only know about kobolds from the games I’ve played. What can you tell me about the kobolds here on Terra?”

Mary pauses her flight and scrolls through a screen I can’t see. “While there are variations among kobolds, for the most part, they live underground and are quite good at digging tunnels. They have a tribal level society and are often found serving larger more powerful creatures like orcs or dark elves.”

I consider the information as we continue to move through the woods following the kobold trail. After an hour the forest becomes thicker and the tracks harder for me to follow as leaves and debris cover the ground. Mary doesn’t seem to have any trouble following the tracks though and she leads me deeper into the forest. Even though the sun is high above us the trees are so thick that the forest seems to be in a perpetual state of dusk.

I hear a rustling sound ahead of us and I duck behind some bushes. Mary being invisible to everyone flies ahead. When she returns, she whispers in my ear, “There are four kobolds ahead. All four have knives and two have slings. You have to kill them quickly or they’ll alert the rest of the tribe. Then you’ll have dozens of kobolds to deal with.”

I hear a series of barks as the kobolds get closer. As they come into view I see four creatures that are as tall standing as I am squatting. They all have scaly red and brown skin. They walk on two legs and have a tail that gives them excellent balance. They almost look like bipedal lizards except they have short snouts and ridges above their eyes. Each kobold has two arms with three claw-like fingers on each hand. While they don’t have much clothing, they do have loincloths and pouches around their waists.

Now that they are closer, I recognize the barking I heard before as a gruff form of Xican. Speaking to another kobold, one of the lead creature says “Why me have to go steal sheep again? Me go last time.”

A kobold with two short black horns on his scaly head answers, “Why you complain so much? Me have gone last three times. Steal sheep, steal pig and steal stupid chickens. That big dumb Grumph always making me go steal food for him.”

A smaller kobold in the rear with a sling in its hand puts a finger to its snout and says “Shhhh. You no say that too loud or Grumph hear you. Then smash you into jelly like him did Toreck. Toreck think he brave when Grumph first come and talk back. Now Toreck just stain on ground.”

The fourth kobold nods his head in agreement.

Grumph? Who the heck is Grumph? Aren’t these kobolds stealing the livestock for themselves? Damn. This makes things so much harder. Even if I kill these kobolds, it won’t stop the thefts. Someone named Grumph is making these kobolds steal livestock.

Taking out the spear and shield from my inventory I change out the sharp pointed spear tip for a blunted hammer tip. The four kobold have already walked past my hiding spot and I sneak up behind them. Thankfully, my time training [Sneak] with Keans is paying off and the kobolds don’t hear me. When I’m only a few feet away from the closest kobold I hike my shield up and run forward as fast as I can, slamming my shield into its back.

Damage dealt: 8 (sneak attack)

The kobold crumples to the ground. Thankful my sneak attack does bonus damage even when using a shield, I swing my blunted spear at the kobold with the sling and connect with its head.

Damage dealt: 6

Dazed it just looks at me dumbly not understanding what’s attacking it. I slam my shield into the stunned creature knocking it out.

Turning, I face the last two kobolds. They both have wicked looking stone knives in their hands. I back away to give myself room to swing my spear. One kobold rushes forward while the other moves to my right side trying to flank me. My shield facing the charging kobold, I feint with my blunted spear at its head then swing it to my right catching the flanking kobold off guard.

Damage dealt: 5

It’s not enough damage to take it down and I quickly backpedal to keep both kobolds in front of me. Looking at each other for a moment, both kobolds dash at my shield. The kobold with the horns on its head dashes to my left disappearing where my shield blocks my view and the other kobold leaps in the air and grabs the top of my shield and tries to climb over it. Distracted by a kobold on my shield I lose track of the horned one until I feel a stabbing pain in my back.

Damage received: 10 (Backstab)

Damn horned kobold backstabbed me. Realizing the two kobolds work too well together I drop the shield I’m holding in my left hand, surprising the kobold trying to climb on top of it. Swinging the butt of my spear with both hands I connect with the surprised kobold holding my shield and send him flying through the air to land in a heap on the ground.

Turning to my left I see the horned Kobold trying to sneak behind me for another attack. I thrust my spear towards him but he rolls to the side then moves back out of range.

My side still bleeding I nod to the horned Kobold, “Now it’s just the two of us little-horned warrior. Why don’t you tell me about Grumph and where I can find him?”

Looking at me with slitted eyes, the kobold responds, “Why you want to know about Grumph? What he to you?”

“You’ve been stealing livestock for him. I want that to stop. Killing you or your friends won’t do that. So I figure I’ll kill the guy making you steal.”

Looking at me and my blunted spear, he then looks at his lizard-like friends and sees they are indeed not dead. “You no kill kobolds but want to kill Grumph?”

“That’s right. I kill Grumph, not little kobolds. No kobolds have to die as long as you stop stealing from the farmers.”

The kobold stops moving and drops his knife. He then rubs his scaly hands together and gives me a toothy smile. “What you want to know friend human?”

Chapter 4.2

Sitting down with the horned kobold I chew some of the red healing herbs I had left over from the alchemist’s quest. It’s not as good as a healing potion but a few leaves heal the stab wound in my back and get me up to full health. Tastes horrible, though.

The horned kobold’s name is Vrax. He leads one of his tribe’s hunting parties. According to Vrax, Grumph came down from the mountains two months ago. When he came upon the kobold tribe he immediately demanded tribute.  The tribe’s bravest warriors tried to attack and kill Grumph but they were all defeated. The tribe's eldest kobold feared for his tribe’s safety and surrendered to the troll. Yeah, that’s right. Grumph is a troll. Ever since then, Grumph has been making the tribe hunt and steal for him.

While we talk the three other members of Vrax’s stealing...err...hunting party regain consciousness. Vrax explains that I’m going to help them get rid of Grumph. The three other kobolds yip in excitement at the idea of not having to obey the smelly troll anymore.

Since I didn’t kill anyone, I don’t get any experience. However, I did raise my [Shield] skill to novice 4.

Vrax and the other kobolds escort me deeper into the forest to a clearing with a small hill. Vrax explains that most kobolds prefer to live underground and are great diggers. They built this hill themselves and dug a network of tunnels underneath to live in. Most of the tribe lives underground and have the [Darkvision] ability that lets them see in the pitch-black underground world.

Vrax brings the elder of the kobold tribe out from the tunnels. The elder has another fifteen hunters with him. Guess they have trust issues. The aged kobold is only slightly taller than Vrax but has larger curved horns protruding from his head. He wears the same type of loincloth as the other kobolds but also has a series of necklaces and charms hanging around his neck. He looks older than the other kobolds and his scales have an ashen quality to them.

With the group of hunters behind him, the elder looks me directly in my eyes and says “Vrax tells me that you’ve come to help rid us of Grumph. Why would a human do such a thing?”

I’m a little surprised at the eloquence of the elder, but it makes sense that the smartest of them would be the leader. “Great kobold, I may be human but your problem with Grumph is not just a kobold problem. He makes your noble people steal from human farmers. He has also hurt the kobolds of your tribe. What is to stop him from harming humans too? I was sent by the humans of the Restrian village to deal with the thefts but when I learned that a troll was the real cause of both our problems, I decided that helping the kobold tribe would be helping the humans.”

Listening intently to my words, the elder is silent after I finish talking. A moment passes. Then another. He stares at me and seems to come to some decision. “Your words bear the ring of truth and are backed up by the fact that you chose not to kill the hunters you encountered. I believe you want to help us.” At this statement, a sense of tension seems to leave the hunters behind the elder and they begin talking softly.

“What do you think you can do to help us human?” He asks, quieting the other kobolds.

“Please, call me Armon. I know that I may not appear to be strong but I have trained with great warriors and I have a plan to kill Grumph and free your tribe from his tyranny.”

“Well, Armon. Whatever you plan, we must work quickly. Grumph will be here at sunset for his dinner. Either we give him stolen livestock to eat or we’ll be the meal.”

Chapter 4.3

As sunset falls I hear crashing sounds coming from the forest to the east. The kobolds think Grumph roams the mountains during the day and comes to get food from the tribe in the evening. After a few minutes, a figure appears through the trees. He is large. Larger than Rex. Likely seven feet tall and roped with muscle. The troll doesn’t wear any clothing and carries a small tree it uses as a club. When I focus above the troll’s head a box appears.

Grumph level. 8

As the troll approaches the entrance to the kobold lair, I step out into the open with my shield and spear ready. I face the creature. He stops and looks at me with confusion on his face. “You no little lizard. Who you?”

I raise my spear, now with the sharpest point I have, and shout loud and clear, “I’m Armon the magnificent. The defender of these kobolds. I have fought worgs and torn the horns from my enemies’ skulls. I’m here to destroy you vile beast.”

“You gonna tell him those horns were from rabbits?” Mary whispers to me.

“No. Now be quiet. You’re ruining my moment.” I hiss back to Mary.

The troll looks even more confused and scratches his rear with the tree.

“He’s a troll. They’re not exactly known as great thinkers. You have to say it plain and simple.” Mary advises.

Sighing, I yell at Grumph, “I’m here to kill you!”

That seems to get through. The troll’s face sours and he roars, “You no kill Grumph. Grumph kill you, dumb dumb human.” The troll raises his club high in the air and charges towards me.

I stand my ground until the troll is almost on top of me and he swings the club with both hands down at my head. At the last minute, I roll to my right. I hear the whistle of the wind as the club misses me. Even though I’m not hit directly I’m still knocked off my feet by the shockwave of the club hitting the ground. Staggering to my feet I see a small crater where the club hit the earth. The troll snarls and picks up the tree in both hands and turns to face me. This close I can see snot running from its large bulbous nose and smell its putrid breath.

Not waiting for the troll to swing its club again I charge towards it and thrust with my spear at its throat. My spear slices neatly into the Grumph’s throat and green blood arcs out from the wound as I pull my spear out.

Damage dealt: 15 Critical hit

The troll’s eyes bulge in surprise for a moment then he presses his large left hand to his throat. When he moves his hand away the wound has closed and only bleeds a little. After another moment even that bleeding stops and the wound is fully healed. He smiles at me with a mouth full of crooked teeth. “You no hurt Grumph.”

Suddenly Grumph steps forward and backhands me, the back of his fist slamming into my shield.

Damage received: 14

I find myself flying through the air. I land hard on my back and the wind is knocked out of me. I try to raise my head off the ground and see I was thrown five feet away from Grumph. I also see the troll marching towards me with his club raised up to strike. Damn troll hit me for almost half my health with one hit. I can’t let him hit me with that club or I’m finished. I still can’t breathe and struggle to get back to my feet.

Before the troll can reach me, I see an object speed through the air and smack the creature in the forehead. Grumph is stunned for a moment and stops moving towards me. Looking around I see a smooth stone with green blood on the ground at the troll’s feet.  I hear a familiar voice yelling and look to see Vrax standing on the hill at the entrance of the kobold lair. He’s loading another stone into his sling. Grumph finally notices Vrax and yells “Stupid lizard. I smash you good.” Walking towards the kobold hill Grumph is hit by another stone. Not particularly phased by the hit, Grumph growls, leans down and picks up a rock the size of my head and hurls it at Vrax. The kobold tries to dive out of the way but is clipped hard and he falls to the ground.

The troll laughs as Vrax falls and continues to move toward the kobold entrance, no doubt to finish off his prey. As he gets closer to the hill there is a cracking sound. Grumph stops moving and looks towards his feet.

Shit he noticed!

*Flashback- Earlier that day*

Looking at the kobold elder, I smile and say, “Here’s my plan. I know I can’t take the troll on directly but if we use our combined skills and knowledge we have a good chance of beating Grumph.”

“What can little kobolds like us do against a troll Armon?” the elder asks.

“We use the skills we have. I’m told that kobolds are the best diggers on Terra. Is that true?”

“Yes. We’re great diggers and miners. We build our homes underground so we have to be.”

“Good. My plan is to dig a pit deep enough to trap Grumph in. Then we put sharp stakes at the bottom to damage him as he falls. We’re going to use the trolls own weight and size against him.”

“Trolls regenerate quickly. What’s to stop Grumph from pulling himself off the stakes, climbing out of the pit and killing us?”

I laugh and point to all the trees around us. “The trees, or more specifically all the flammable wood. We layer kindling and branches all along the bottom of the pit and soak it in oil. Then when Grumph falls onto the stakes we set the whole pit ablaze and watch the troll burn. Fire stops a troll’s regeneration.”

“Ooohh. Looks like someone's been paying attention to teacher Mary’s monster lessons.” Mary says to me while smiling and giving me a thumbs up.

The kobold elder yips repeatedly and it takes me a moment to realize he’s laughing. “You’re smarter than you look human. I like your plan.” He then starts barking orders at the hunters gathered around and they immediately start digging a pit and hiding the extra dirt in the forest.

While the kobolds work their magic on the pit, I pull the axe I used to chop trees from my inventory and start chopping up branches to make stakes.

The work is hard and we barely finish covering the deep pit with thin branches and dirt to conceal it, before the sun starts to set. I tell the elder to get a fire going in the caves somewhere and be ready to light the pit on fire on my signal. He nods and all the kobolds go inside the tunnels in the hill.

All that’s left is to wait. I hide behind a rock near the kobold hill with my shield and spear ready. Soon enough, I hear someone crashing through the forest.

*Flashback ends*

As Grumph leans down to take a closer look at what cracked under his massive feet I run towards his back as fast as I can and slam my shield into him. The already overbalanced troll pitches forward and he twists to land on his back. The ground beneath him groans and cracks as the thin branches begin to break under his weight. Grumph looks at me as he feels the earth under him give way and he reaches with his long arms towards me. One of his large clawed hands grabs onto the top of my shield and I begin to fall with the troll into the pit. Deciding it’s better to lose a shield than a life, I let go of my new shield and it drops into the deep pit with the heavy troll.

As Grumph hits the bottom of the pit I hear him scream in pain. Then he begins to laugh in a deep voice and says “Dumb dumb think little spikes stop Grumph? Me get up and kill little human.”

That’s what you think you smelly bridge stop. I whistle loudly and a kobold comes running out of the hill entrance with a torch in his hand. Seeing the troll in the pit he flings the flaming object into the hole. I watch as the troll’s laughter stops and his eyes track the falling object into the pit. The moment it hits the bottom of the trap a blaze of fire spreads and engulfs everything. The troll howls now not in glee but in genuine pain and fear.

The remaining hunters all come pouring out of the hill entrance with slings and throwing spears in their hands. Everyone begins slinging rocks and chucking spears as quickly as they can. Even though I don’t have anything to throw I still pick up every rock I can find and hurl it at the troll. As the projectiles hit Grumph I see that they’re not healing.

I dismiss all the damage dealt notifications I’m receiving and yell at the kobolds, “Keep it up, he’s not regenerating.” After what seems like forever, the troll stops yelling and is only groaning as more stones hit him. Soon even those noises stop and the troll goes quiet. Only after the last stone is slung by kobolds and the fire burns out, does one brave hunter goes down into the pit to stab the troll with a short spear. When nothing happens everyone breathes a sigh of relief.

You’ve helped kill Grumph, a named troll. You receive 90 XP. Because the monster you helped kill was over 3 levels above you, you receive an additional 30 XP.

You’ve completed the quest ‘Kobold Chaos’. You receive 20 XP.

You’ve completed the hidden quest ‘Save the kobold clan’. You receive 40 XP and your reputation with the kobold clan has improved.

You are now level 3. You have 5 free stat points.

I’m stunned for a moment at all the notifications I receive, then remember Vrax. I rush to the spot on the hill where he fell and see his unmoving body. Falling to my knees I touch the brave horned kobold. He groans at my touch but I see that he’s bleeding and looks very pale. Not sure what to do, I remember I have some healing herbs still. I yell for someone to get me some water. I chew up all the remaining red rubrum leaves I have. The elder himself gives me a skin of water and I spit the red paste into the container. I shake the skin to mix the paste and the water as quickly as possible. I cradle Vrax’s head in my lap and pour the concoction down his throat. He coughs up the liquid at first but I massage his throat to force it down. Soon I can see the color returning to the kobolds scales and he opens his eyes. “We win?” he says. I nod my head vigorously as tears come unbidden to my eyes and all the hunter's cheer.

Chapter 4.4

While my healing potion was good enough to save Vrax’s life he still had to rest and recover his strength. I spend the night with the kobold tribe since I didn’t like the idea of traipsing through miles of thick forest in the dark.

I have to stoop to enter the tunnels the kobolds and the elder insists I stay with him for the night. He leads me through a series of passageways until I see an opening with an animal skin cover. The elder moves the cover and beckons me inside. I enter and find a large stone room with a fire in a pit in the center. There’s a hole in the ceiling that the smoke escapes through. Shelves cut into the walls are lined with wooden and clay figures. At one end of the room are bedrolls made of fur and cloth.

“Nice place you have here,” I tell the elder.

“Thank you, I do try to keep a nice home. Please sit, I’ll have someone bring us food.”

I take a seat next to the fire, warming myself from the night’s chill. The elder sits to my left and looks at me. We sit in silence until a small kobold brings two plates of food to us. I take the plate of food from the kobold and thank him. There are small roasted grubs on a wooden plate. I look at the elder and see him popping each grub into his mouth like they’re popcorn. I gingerly take one of the grubs in two fingers and raise it to my mouth.

“Ewwww. Not insects.” Mary says flying nearby and making faint gagging sounds. She covers her eyes with her hands and says. ”I can’t watch.”

I drop the grub into my mouth and bite down. It explodes in a juicy eruption. My first instinct is to spit it out but I suppress the reflex. Instead, I deliberately chew. The texture of the grub is a bit rubbery but not bad. I smile at the elder and give him a thumbs up.

“You have grub shell in your teeth,” Mary informs me. ”I’ll just hang out in the back of the cave till you’re done eating. I can’t handle the sound of you chewing on those gross insects.” She then flies to the back of the room out of the firelight.

I pick the insect shell out of my teeth and continue with the meal till every bit is gone. Fighting trolls is a high-calorie event. Once both of us have finished eating and the plates have been cleared, the elder gets up and goes to a shelf and brings down a bottle and two cups. He pours a liquid into each cup and hands me one. Sniffing the cup the odor burns my nostrils. The elder sits back down and sips from his cup. I follow suit and feel a burning fire as the liquid flows down my throat. I already feel light-headed just from a single sip. Good stuff.

While we drink the elder tells me how grateful he and his tribe are for my help. He describes the dread that had permeated the tribe. Each day Grumph would make them give him more and more until he started to force them to steal to satiate his greed. He’d kill random kobolds any time he wasn’t satisfied or just on a whim.  As he drinks he tears up a bit talking about the members of his tribe that he’s lost. He never thought they’d be able to get out from under Grumph’s control and says his tribe has a debt of honor towards me.

The elder continues to drink and tells me about the noble history of his tribe. Amongst other kobolds, they’re known as the Red Claw tribe. All kobolds consider themselves descendants of the mighty dragons of the world. His tribe traces their lineage to the dragon Cherax Quadricarinatus who was known as one of the most beautiful and fearsome of dragons on Terra. She had black scales on most of her body but her claws were a bright red color. It was said that she defeated so many enemies that their blood seeped into her claws and stained them red.

By the time he finishes his tale we’re both pretty sloshed and pass out shortly after.

Chapter 4.5

The next morning I wake up with a splitting headache from the previous night’s drinking. It takes me a few minutes to remember where I am. The fire died out during the night but sunlight peeks through the smoke hole in the ceiling. The elder is just waking up too. When he pushes the furs off himself I see his face and notice that there appears to be a curly mustache drawn on his snout and eyebrows drawn on his eye ridges in thick black marker.

The elder looks at me and rubs his reptilian eyes. He asks me, “Why do you have so many black lines on your face? Is it some type of post-battle ritual of your people?”

I touch my face trying to feel the black lines he’s referring to but can’t sense anything.

I hear a sound beside me and turn to see Mary flipping a tiny marker in her hands, laughing. “Don’t fall asleep drunk with your friends around. That’s the rule.” she giggles. “Don’t worry, it’s not permanent...this time.”

I tell the elder that yes, it is a ritual of sorts. I ask for some water to get washed up and suggest he do the same since he appears to have participated in the ritual too. After we get cleaned up, we eat some more grubs for breakfast. I make sure to eat extra loudly and describe out loud the various textures and flavors of the grubs for Mary’s benefit. I hear her gagging in the corner. Revenge is a dish best served graphically!

Even though the elder looks at me weirdly for describing my breakfast he doesn’t comment on it. After we finish eating he leads me out of the tunnels past various rooms with kobolds cooking, skinning, or working. Walking outside the sun blinds me for a moment. When my vision clears I see that the elder and I are not alone. All the hunters from the fight with Grumph are outside gathered around the entrance to the hill.

The elder stands in front of me, the hunters behind him and says, “We have all gathered here to thank Armon for his aid in freeing us from Grumph.” A chorus of yips follows this statement. “As a measure of our gratitude, we have decided to make you a member of the Red Claw tribe.” Another chorus of yips from the gathered hunters. “Who among the tribe will stand with Armon and teach him our ways?”

There is a moment of silence, then a single familiar horned kobold steps forward. “Me will,” says Vrax.

The elder motions me to step forward and stand beside Vrax. I comply, still, a little shocked at the honor offered to me.

Turning to Vrax, the elder says, “Do you Vrax, leader of the hunters of the Red Claw clan, take Armon as a brood brother? Do you swear before great Cherax Quadricarinatus to protect and instruct him as a member of the tribe?”

“Yip, yip. Me do.” Vrax answers.

Turning to me, the elder continues. “Do you Armon, killer of Grumph, accept the honor of becoming a member of the Red Claw clan? Do you take Vrax as brood brother, swearing before great Cherax Quadricarinatus to honor and protect him as you would yourself?”

“Yes. Yes, I do.” I answer.

Vrax then takes his stone knife and slices it across his palm and offers the blade to me. I imitate Vrax and cut my palm with the same blade and feel the sting of the blade as it cuts my flesh. The elder then takes both our bleeding palms and presses them together and begins chanting in a language I don’t understand. The hunters around us also begin chanting in the same language. I feel a buildup in energy around me and pressure against my skin and face. As the chanting increases in pace and volume so does the pressure. I close my eyes trying to endure the increasing pressure and pain. Just when I don’t think that I can stand the sensation anymore the chanting stops and the pressure and pain evaporates.

“As elder of the Red Claw clan, I pronounce you both brood brothers. Welcome to the tribe.” With this final statement, a cheer goes up around me from all the gathered hunters.

You’ve participated in a magical ritual making you a member of the Red Claw clan. You will receive the following changes: You can now understand and speak the reptilian language. Your hands are now permanently red, reflecting the nature of the tribe. At will you may activate the ability [Darkvision] which allows you to see in low light as if it was daytime up to 30 feet. In total darkness [Darkvision] lets you see in black and white hues up to 10 feet away. As you grow in strength the benefits of this magical pact will grow as well.

You’ve participated in a magical ritual binding you to the kobold Vrax. You receive the following changes: You can sense Vrax’s location up to one mile away. You gain 2 to dexterity. Changes to Vrax: Vrax can sense your location up to one mile away. Vrax gains 2 to intelligence. Your reputation has increased with Vrax to brood brother. He will consider you a member of his family and will be loyal to you until death. This qualifies him as a companion. You may access special information about him on the [Companion] screen.

I’m surprised by the information from the notifications. When I look down at my hands they are indeed red now. I am also surprised by all the new sounds I hear. Looking at the kobolds around me I see they are not speaking Xican but some language that uses lots of Ssss and Zzzz. Yet, somehow I understand every word.

“Welcome, the Red Claw Clan brother,” Vrax says to me in the reptilian language as he slaps my lower back. I hear everyone else cheer loudly.

After the serious ceremony is completed the entire atmosphere changes to one of celebration. When a new member is added to the kobold clan there is a feast. They’d been preparing it all morning and the food looks delicious. There are slices of venison, roasted grubs, fried thinly sliced root vegetables, and plenty of that burning liquid the elder gave me last night. I abstain from drinking but enjoy the rest of the food. I even slip some of the vegetables and venison to Mary so she enjoys herself. The feasting is planned to last all day and into the night but I can’t stay for the entire event. I explain to the elder that I’ve been gone much longer than I planned and that there are people likely worried about me.

He understands the obligations of family and lets me leave the party early. Before I go, though, he hands me a bundle wrapped in leather. When I open the bundle I see two vials of green blood.

Troll’s Blood

Though getting it can be hazardous to your health, troll blood has many uses. It is highly sought after by alchemists and magical practitioners.

Remembering the quest I saw in the village I recognize the value of the gift the elder has given me. “I can’t take this. It can be sold in the village for a great deal of money.”

“No, no. You earned this when you helped us kill Grumph. It was dropped when his body disappeared.” He assured me.

“Thank you for your kindness and generosity great elder.”

“Now that you are a member of the tribe you may call me Xichion. Go in peace brother and remember to visit us.”

Chapter 4.6

Walking into the forest away from the kobold tribe Mary flies up to me lands on my shoulder and says, “That was a pretty good party. Can’t say I liked all the food but the drinks were great.”

“Yeah, no one parties like a kobold parties,” I say.

After another ten minutes of walking west through the forest, I hear the sounds of rustling leaves. I don’t know what’s coming but it’s moving fast. I pull my spear from my inventory and hide behind a tree, ready for trouble.

The sound of footsteps slows then stops. I peek around the tree to see who or what’s there. I look but don’t see anything.

“What are we looking for brother?” a voice whispers behind me.

The voice startles me and I jump in the air and spin around. What I see when I turn is a familiar horned kobold brandishing his stone knife and looking around for danger.

“Vrax, what are you doing here?”

“I’m your brood brother. Where else would I be but by your side? You left in the middle of the feast. I hardly had time to gather my things to follow after you.”

“Why are you following me? And why do you talk so much better now?”

“As I said we’re brood brothers. Was I not clear?” he says looking at me like I’m a bit thick in the skull.

“The magical ritual you participated in changed both of you, Armon. You got more dexterity and he got more intelligent. That’s reflected in his speech. As far as the brood brothers go, you have to understand that kobolds aren’t birthed like you mammals, they’re hatched. The kobolds that are hatched in the same brood are brothers and sister. They protect each other from underground predators when they’re young and form very strong bonds. I think he’s saying he’s here to protect you.” Mary tells me.

“Are you here to protect me Vrax?”

“Yes, yes. We’re brood brothers. I watch your back, you watch mine. How can I watch your back if you are far away?” he nods and tells me.

“Armon, you made the magical pact. You’re responsible for Vrax now not just as a companion but as a family.” Mary chides.

Oh. Well, guess we’ll have to set another plate for Thanksgiving dinner now. Wait, do they have Thanksgiving here? Something to ask about.

“Welcome to the team Vrax,” I say and pat him on the shoulder.

The three of us continue walking, the forest getting thinner and thinner until we come out into the field near where the sheep were stolen. Following the path back to farmer Fred’s house, I knock on his door. I hear barking from inside the house and when Fred opens the door he again has a pitchfork in his hands.

I can only wonder privately to myself why he has a pitchfork in the house. Is he spreading hay indoors? Or does he secretly dress up as the devil and needs the pitchfork to complete the outfit?

“Well, if it isn’t the adventurer. You take care of those kobolds?”

I step back so he can see the other member of my group, Vrax.

Fred shouts and points the pitchfork at the kobold. “What’s that dirty, stealin’ critter doing here?”

Putting my hands up to try and calm Fred, I tell him, “Vrax here is a member of the kobold tribe that stole from you. When I went to confront them about the stealing, I found out that a troll named Grumph was making them steal.”

Still pointing the pitchfork at Vrax he says, “That don’t make it right for them to steal from honest folks like me.”

“I’m not saying it does make it all right but if they hadn’t done what Grumph said he would have killed more of them than he already had. If you think about it, they actually stopped Grumph from coming down here himself and taking what he wanted. Do you think a troll would have stopped at taking a few sheep or would he have taken the shepherd too?”

That made Fred stop and think. I don’t think he considered what he’d do if he came face to face with a troll himself. Slowly, he lowered the pitchfork and scratched his head. “Well, when you put it like that I guess it was better that they dealt with the troll.”

“That’s right Fred. Now that I’ve put a stop to the stealing though I just need the silver coin promised to me and we’ll be on our way.” I say and hold out my open hand to him.

Fred raises the pitchfork back up but this time points it at me, “You ain’t getting nothing. You didn’t kill the dirty kobolds like I wanted so you don’t get paid.”

“That’s not what the job asked for. All it said was to stop the stealing. I even got the experience from completing the quest.” I argue.

“I don’t care. No dead kobolds, no money.”

“You lie to brother Armon. You have no honor human,” says Vrax. Up until now he’d waited patiently not moving, even when Fred pointed a pitchfork at him. Now, though, he had his stone knife in his hand and was advancing on Fred.

Fred, seeing the armed kobold advance quickly backpedaled into his house and slammed the door shut.

“You take that dirty kobold and leave...or, or, or…” Fred trailed off.

“Or what you lying human? You let your dog out? We killed a troll!” Vrax shot back.

“Or I’ll tell the village! That’s what.” Fred finishes.

Holding Vrax back I talk to the closed door. “Fred, keep your money. Think of it as reparations for your lost sheep, ok? But I’m telling you now. If you try to make trouble for me or my friend with the village, I’ll show them that I completed the quest and that you refused to pay us the money you promised. Think how well that’ll go with your adventurer neighbors.”

Pulling Vrax back from the door we walk away from the farm. I decide not to go to the village today. I’m sure Lilliandra, Rex, and Keans are all worried I never came home yesterday. Instead, we take the most direct path to the cabin.

Chapter 4.7

It’s an hour before sunset when we approach the cabin. The front door of the cabin flies open as we walk down the entryway path. Before I can say anything I find myself being hugged tightly and feel a wet sensation on my neck.

Releasing me from the hug, I see that it’s Lilliandra and that she’s crying. She grabs my face in both of her hands, looks at me intently, and babbles emotionally, “Are you ok? Where have you been? We have been so worried about you. Your note said you were going to be back yesterday evening. We know you went questing and it is so dangerous sometimes. I stayed up all night waiting for you. This morning when you still had not come back even Keans and Rex were worried. They are out right now looking for you. How could you do this to me?”

Mary sniffs, kicks me lightly on the back of the head, and tells me, “Yeah, you jerk face. How could you do that to her?”

I feel really guilty about going missing for the night. I didn’t mean to make Lilliandra cry or worry. I really didn’t mean for things to take this long. It just got complicated.

While I’m still muddling over my thoughts on how to make Lilliandra feel better, a small reptilian voice speaks behind me, “Please don’t be angry at brother Armon. He saved my whole tribe. It’s our fault he did not return. Very long, very tough fight. Then tribal ceremony this morning. Our fault, our fault. Don’t be mad, don’t cry.”

Letting go of my face Lilliandra steps back and looks at Vrax. He’s standing there, rubbing his hands together, his tail swishing, looking at Lilliandra earnestly. Sniffing once, Lilliandra wipes the tears from her cheeks, straightening a stray lock of silver hair, and says “Well, who might you be little one?”

Bowing from the waist, the horned kobold answers, “I am Vrax, hunter of the Red Claw clan, brood brother to troll killer, Armon.”

At the mention of ‘troll killer,’ Lilliandra turns to look at me, a bit of fire in her eyes. The look she gives me tells me we’ll be talking about that later. Turning back to Vrax though, she too bows at the waist in the formal introduction and says, “I am Lilliandra, daughter of the three moon people, mate to Rex the fierce, friend to Keans the sneaky, and teacher and friend to Armon the irresponsible. Be welcome here.”

Both Lilliandra and Vrax stand up straight and smile. Lilliandra walks inside the cabin expecting Vrax and me to follow. While her back is turned, I give Vrax a thumbs up for getting Lilliandra to stop crying. He tries to return the gesture but because he only has three fingers it looks more like he’s flipping me the bird.

Entering the cabin I see Lilliandra at the kitchen counter putting some food together and I sit down at the table. Seeing Vrax still standing I motion for him to sit next to me. He climbs up the bench and sits down to my right. He’s so short he looks like a child sitting at the grownups table, his head barely peeking over the table.

Lilliandra brings two plates of food to the table. One plate has piles of fruits, the other has slices of meats and cheeses. “You and your guest must be hungry. Here, eat,” she says as she sits down across from me. I’m not feeling particularly hungry after the food from the feast but pick up some of the fruit and nibble at it. Vrax grabs a handful of the sliced meat and eats it with gusto.

Waiting for Vrax and me to finish eating, Lilliandra sits calmly, her arms crossed over her chest. Once we finish she asks, “So, care to tell me what happened yesterday?”

I gulp a little but proceed to tell Lilliandra the whole story. How I wanted to make some money and gain extra experience to practice [magical engraving]. How I picked out a seemingly easy quest and how I got into a little debt for my new spear and now destroyed the shield. I leave out the part about the possible marriage to Dyblex though. Then I tell her about the quest with farmer Fred and the thefts by the kobolds. When I get to the part where I follow the kobold tracks into the forest and overhear a group of them talking about Grumph, Vrax interrupts me and continues the story.

According to Vrax, I was the savior of the tribe. He introduces me as a mighty warrior that not only defeated his entire hunting party single handed but spared their lives. He goes on to recount my great generosity at helping his tribe in dealing with the tyrant Grumph, who had been making them steal for him. Vrax makes me sound like a near genius for thinking of a perfect plan to defeat the troll with a pit trap that not only hurt Grumph but stopped his regeneration with fire.

Listening to Vrax describe his view of events. Mary says in my ear. “Wow, he really thinks highly of you. He’d make a great wingman the next time you go to a bar. He’d soo get you laid. Though I think that term means something different to kobolds.” I stifle a laugh and continue listening to Vrax.

When Vrax begins to talk about all the mighty blows I rained on the troll in our initial encounter, I have to cut in. I try to explain that Grumph was kicking my butt until Vrax distracted him but Vrax kept talking about my bravery at facing a mighty enemy. Lilliandra must have had a hard time following both of us because she raises her hands and asks that only I talk.

I tell her about the rest of the battle. How eventually, we got Grumph to fall into the pit trap and how I lost my shield. Then everyone just threw everything they had while he couldn't regenerate. I don’t go into detail about the kobold ceremonies but say that they made me a part of their tribe and made Vrax and I brood brothers. I finish the story saying that after all that we just came back here.

Lilliandra sits through the entire story patiently, not saying anything. Once I finish, she takes my red hands in hers and examines them. Drawing a spell in the air and saying the magical words, her eyes start to glow, and she looks deeply at both my hands and me. She mumbles something to herself.

Then the glow around her eyes winks out and she looks at me. “Looks like you are telling the truth about the ceremony and being made a brood brother. I was a little worried about what they might have done to you, but I cannot detect any malicious spells on you. I can sense that powerful magic was used to change you. How this changed you, I cannot tell. However, I sense that it will continue to change you as you grow.  I know that most tribal communities do not take to outsiders, especially if they are not the same race. So they must have been very grateful for your aid.”

“Yup, yup. Armon saved the tribe from Grumph. Now we’re brood brothers.” Vrax adds with enthusiasm.

I smile at Vrax. He sure made this easier. It’s hard to stay mad or sad around him when he’s so perky all the time.

Shortly after I finish telling Lilliandra what happened yesterday, Rex and Keans return. Rex and Keans were happy to see me, though Rex knuckled my head for making him worry. The two spent the morning tracking me from the cabin to the village. They said they talked to Dyblex and she told them I’d bought equipment for a quest. According to them, she was upset I hadn’t come back yet as well. From there they tracked me to farmer Fred’s place but he wouldn’t open his door for some reason. Then they followed our tracks through the forest to the kobold lair where they found the tribe celebrating. They were about to start swinging weapons when the elder appeared and told them how I saved them from a troll and had not left that long ago.

“So you beat a troll, lad? How’d you do it? Even the three of us would have had a tough time taking down a troll.” Keans asks when Rex finishes catching everyone up on what they’d been doing.

“Well, he was pretty tough and I knew there was no way I could fight him head on so I used what you and Rex have been teaching me and out thought him. I deflected my enemy’s power and used a hidden trap to finish him off.” I tell Keans and Rex. My statement brings a proud smile to both of their faces and they slap my shoulder.

“I didn’t do it alone, though. The whole kobold tribe pitched in and if it weren’t for Vrax here I would have been killed trying to get the troll into position to fall into the trap.” I say and point at Vrax.

At this statement, the hulking Rex walks over to the diminutive Vrax and lifts him high in the air. Vrax looks a little panicked but Rex just brings him into a tight hug. “Thank you for helping our friend,” Rex tells him as he squeezes him in a bear hug. Rex is so much bigger than the kobold that I can barely see Vrax’s tail peeking out between Rex’s massive arms. When Rex released Vrax he stumbled around and shakes his tail trying to get some blood flowing to his limbs.

“Put your tail in, put your tail out, put your tail in and shake it all about.” Mary sings while watching Vrax. I laugh at the joke only I can hear but don’t explain anything.

By the time everyone finishes explaining their stories the sun has set and Keans moves into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Oddly enough he asks Vrax if he wants to help him. Vrax accepts the offer. Even though he has to stand on one of the stools so he can reach the counter, Vrax is rather skilled at cooking. He uses his stone knife to chop vegetables and dresses the rabbits he’s given with impressive quickness. Before I know it dinner is on the table and everyone is eating and talking. When I mention that I made level 3 because I helped beat Grumph everyone cheers and congratulates me. During the meal, we talk about Vrax. Everyone is open to the idea of him staying in my room and Keans even offers to train him a little if he’d like. Vrax looks to me and when I nod my approval he accepts enthusiastically.

Everyone goes to bed with full bellies and full hearts.

After Vrax falls asleep in my room. I whisper to Mary, “Thanks for having my back today and watching out for me when we first ran into the kobolds. You were the one to tell me about trolls and how fire stops their regeneration too. I don’t know if everything would have turned out as good as it did if you weren’t around. You’re a good friend Mary. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Mary blushes at my praise, flies up to my cheek, kisses it quickly, and then flies away to another corner of the room to sleep. I rub my cheek for a moment looking at where Mary flew to, then turn over and go to sleep too.

Interlude 2

A dark figure paces the length of a stone room. His black cloak ripples as he walks, an indication of his agitation. He has been waiting for a messengers return for three days.

There is a light knock at the door to the room. Without thought, the dark figure flings out his jet black hand and the wooden door flies open. Revealing a lanky man in the doorway with his hand still up ready to knock again.

The man quivers before the waves of dark energy emanating from the figure in the room. “My lord, I have a message for you. It is marked ‘confidential’.”

The dark figure curls a finger at the messenger and the poor quivering man is pulled towards the figure. When the messenger is within arm’s length, the dark figure holds out his hand for the message. The now quaking man shakily hands a sealed envelope to the black outstretched hand.

Releasing his power over the poor wretch, the figure opens the envelope and sees that this is the message he has been waiting for. It is written in code and delivered by disposable messengers to maintain true secrecy. Too many of the gods and great powers have the ability to snoop through the message tablets using their magic.

Decoding the message the dark figure reads:

Your lordship,

Our agents throughout the continent have received your orders to be on the lookout for any new and strange beings. Per your orders, we have described this ‘stranger’ as having appeared out of nowhere with no ties to anyone in any country. He or She will be ignorant of the customs and even possibly the language of the local population yet grow in power more rapidly than the average person.

We have already received several responses to the vague description but so far none of the ones we’ve captured have been anything but foreigners from different countries. We have even engaged the services of the bounty hunters and slavers of the Imperare Empire to hunt down any rumor of anyone matching the description you have given.

If there is any more information you can give please pass it along. Otherwise, our agents may not be able to locate the person you wish captured in a timely manner.

With the deepest loyalty,

Raslinton

The dark figure crumples the message in his black hands. Waves of displeasure and dark energy radiate in waves from the figure.

How can I give the fool more information?!?  I am lucky to know that he or she is here on this continent. Why can’t that idiot find one strange outsider? Even among the barbaric monster tribes this ‘agent of change’ should be obvious.

The figure turns to the messenger and begins to tell him to get him a paper for a scathing response when he notices that in his rage he has crushed and broken another servant with his dark magic. He shrugs with indifference.

Oh well. There are many others to take his place. Soon, this ‘agent of change’ will be among those that serve him and his master too.

Chapter 5.1

I wake up the next morning with a bit of pep in my step. Reflecting back on the previous day, I gained a level, a brother, and once I sell that troll blood I won’t have to marry Dyblex. Not a bad day. I know. I’m ignoring what happened last night with Mary. That may contribute to my peppy step but it’s not really something I can deal with right now. Vrax and Mary are surprisingly light sleepers and get up when I do.

The three of us move quietly into the main room intending to leave before anyone else wakes up but find Lilliandra waiting for me in the main room.

“Good morning Armon. Going out again today?”

Vrax senses that this is a personal moment and backs out of the room quietly. Smart kobold. Mary just flies to the table to watch the drama unfold.

“Yeah. You don’t need to worry, I’m not going adventuring again. I was going to go sell the troll blood I got when Grumph died. I need the money to pay off my debt with Dyblex and buy some supplies to practice [magical engraving]. I’ll be back in a couple hours.”

“Well, I understand that you have things to do in town. I am just a bit worried about your safety. Even though everything turned out well with the kobolds, it could have easily gone poorly. To be blunt, you were very fortunate not to die. We, your friends also had no way to contact you or know if you were ok.” Listening to Lilliandra speak I can sense the worry she felt and my sense of guilt skyrockets. I have no idea what to do. I’m just not used to people caring enough to worry about me.

Lilliandra motions for me to sit next to her. I do and she cups my hand in hers. It’s an odd contrast looking at my blood red hand next to her alabaster skin. “I know you did not mean to make us worry but it brings up a problem. As an adventurer, you will be out on the road for long periods of time.”

Taking something from the bench next to her she puts an object into my hands. The object is rectangular, about three by six inches, and on one side appears to be a solid piece of black slate. On the other side are a series of arcane symbols.

“This is a device adventurers use to communicate with each other. This is the one that Rex gave me when we first started to group together. To use it you have to hold it in your hands and imagine the person you wish to write to then say their name. Once a connection is established you can then use the slate side to write messages to one another. It only works under three conditions. One, you have to have met the person you want to talk to. Two, you must know their real name. Three, the other person must accept your request to communicate with them.”

“Don’t you always know someone’s real name? You just look above their heads for their name and level.”

“There are some skills and abilities that allow you not only to alter your appearance but also the name and level people see.”

Taking out a second messaging device Lilliandra suggests I test out the one she gave me. I close my eyes and imagine Lilliandra’s face and name. After a few moments, a white glow envelops the image I have of her in my mind. I open my eyes and see that both my tablet and the one Lilliandra is holding are faintly glowing white. I see her write something on hers and look down at the tablet in my hands.

Hello, Armon. Please use this messaging tablet to let us know if you are ever in trouble or if you are not going to be here when you say you will be.

“That’s pretty cool,” I say when I see the message.

“Oh, it’s more than cool. It’s not something you’d normally get your hands on until you joined a guild. It costs approximately fifty silver. As a tool, it’s invaluable once you’re in a group. Some people save up for a long time to get one for everyone in their group” Mary tells me.

I hug Lilliandra. “Thank you for the gift. I’ll be sure to use it instead of making you worry.” Lilliandra hugs me back and goes back to her room.

Grabbing some fruit for breakfast I leave the cabin with Mary and Vrax in tow. We make remarkable time getting to Restrian. The gates are barely opening when we get there. We stop in front of the gates to let the guards secure them. I try to walk past them once the gate is fully open but stop when one of the guards yells, “Halt!”

I comply, surprised to be stopped. A guard in rusty chainmail walks in front of me with his hand resting on his sword hilt and says, “Where do you think you’re taking that dirty kobold, son?”

I cross my arms in front of my chest, making sure he can see I’m not armed, and look the guard in the eyes “One, sir, I’m not your ‘son’. Two, is there some rule that says a guy and his friend can’t come into the village to make some purchases?”

Apparently not liking my tone the guard walks up to me and pokes me in the chest. “Yeah, there’s a rule. My rule. It says I don’t want any monsters in my village. Bad enough they let that goblin freak and some of those beast men. I don’t have to let some dirty kobold in, though.”

“Shut it, John.” another guard yells. This guard has a clean uniform and the other guards at the gate seem to defer to him. Even John, the guard poking my chest, stands up straighter when he hears him speak.

“Go check the road for bandits, John.” the new man orders. John gives me and Vrax a scathing look then walks down the road muttering. “Sorry about that. You’re the one staying with Rex and Lilliandra at that cabin, right?” the man says holding out his hand.

I take the hand and shake it. His grip is firm and he seems to have a genuine smile on his face. “Yeah, I’m Armon. This is Vrax.” I answer gesturing to my kobold friend.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Captain Smithe. I’m in charge of the guards in town. I’m sorry about John, he’s normally a pretty good guy. He just doesn’t like non-humans much. He fought in some border skirmishes with the Alterian army against all kinds of non-human tribes. Orcs, trolls, goblins, even some kobolds. It left a bitter taste in his mouth. Doesn’t excuse his behavior, though.” he says while he shrugs.

“Guess his attitude is understandable. Like you say, doesn’t make it right, though.” I respond. Yeah, I’d run into that kind of attitude before. On my old world, it was about something else, though. Guess people are people, no matter what world you’re on.

“Your friend is welcome here. Restrian is a free village and we are open to trading with anyone. Everyone, human and non-human are welcome as long as you don’t cause trouble.  You and your friend should be careful, though. Some people don’t like non-humans. Most folks in town are pretty tolerant but you find a few bad apples in every barrel.”

I nod to the captain as Vrax and I walk into the village. As I walk around I look at the village through new eyes. On my other visits, I was blinded by the newness of the place. Everything seemed so fantastical. I saw lots of other races. Beastmen, elves, even that three eyed person. I did not see how they were treated, though. Maybe I didn’t want to see.

This time while walking around, I look. Really look this time. There are still plenty of friendly faces. But when I look closely I also see a food merchant sneer when a beastman walks by and inside a shop, a clerk follows Vrax while we look at his wares. Captain Smithe is right. Most of the people in town are nice and treat everyone about the same but there are a few that give Vrax a weird look when we walk by.

After walking around for an hour we head to Allison’s to get the troll blood appraised. I know the posting on the job board offered five silver per vial but I don’t know if that’s a good price or not. Walking toward the front door of the alchemy shop Vrax stops in his tracks.

Looking at him he seems to fidget a bit. Maybe he’s nervous about meeting more humans after dealing with guard John?

“You ok? Allison is a nice lady. I’m sure she’ll treat you ok.” I assure him.

“No, it’s not that. Kobolds have sensitive noses. Lots of smells coming from there,” he responds and points to the shop. “I’ll just stay here and guard the door.”

I understand what Vrax means. Last time I went inside the alchemist shop it stank pretty badly. Looking around I see that Mary’s found a gas mask from somewhere. “I’m ready to go inside,” Mary says in a muffled voice and gives me a thumbs up.

Shaking my head I open the door to the shop and enter. I’m again assaulted by a series of odors. It’s not as bad as the last time I came in, though. The smells are a combination of a woodsy smell, acid, and an overly sweet undertone. The room looks much like it did last time with a variety of herbs and flowers hanging from the rafters and tools on the walls. This time, because of my [Herbalism] training, I recognize more of the flowers hanging from the ceiling. I see Allison in the back of the shop stirring a pot of blue liquid. I think she’s making mana potions.

“Good morning Allison,” I call out to her.

She jumps a little at the sound of my voice but smiles when she turns around and sees me. As she walks to the counter I can’t help but admire the way she sways with each step. How does she do that?

“Good morning Armon, enjoying the sights today?” she says with a knowing smile.

I blush a little knowing the ‘sights’ she likely caught me enjoying. “Yup, just noticing the viride, crocus, azureus, and rubrum plants you’re drying out," I reply pointing to some of the plants hanging from the ceiling.

Allison tilts her head and raises an eyebrow in surprise. “Well, someone has spent some time learning [Herbalism]. Do you recognize those purple flowers?”  She says and points to a purple bunch of flowers drying in the corner of the room.

“Hmmm, I don’t think I’ve seen them in person before but they’re called...dusk lilies?”

Herbalism skill increases to Novice level 5

Allison smiles at my correct response. “That’s right. Very good. They’re only found in dark shaded areas and open to pollinate during dusk. They can be used to make a paralytic poison or a moderately powerful anesthetic. I can teach you the recipe for only forty copper.” Allison pulls out a list of potion recipes and slides them towards me over the counter.

I laugh slightly at the smooth sales pitch. “Thank you for the offer but I’m a little low on funds right now. That’s actually why I came by. I was hoping you could help me price this item I got adventuring.” I put one of the two vials of troll blood on the counter. Allison picks up the vial and examines it closely. She takes out the stopper and whiffs some of the odor to her nose. Replacing the stopper on the vial she places it back on the table.

“Troll blood. From the odor and coloration, I’d say it came from a level 8 or 9 specimen. Used in regeneration potions by alchemists and by healers for regeneration spells. I even know a researcher in Barlon that’s trying to create a potion of youth using ingredients like this.” Allison states matter of factly.

Wow. She sure knows her ingredients. “How much would I be able to sell that vial for?” I ask.

Placing her index finger on her pouty lips, she takes a moment to answers, “Hmm, depends on the buyer. I’d buy it from you for five silver a vial to make high-end regeneration potions. However, I think we can both make a bit more. That researcher I know is paying top dollar for troll blood. If you give me a moment I can contact him to see what he’s willing to pay.”

I nod in assent. Allison pulls out a messaging slate and I see it glow white. She then begins writing on it and reading messages. While I wait for her to finish communicating with her researcher friend, I browse through the list of alchemist recipes and skills she has out.

Potion Recipes

Novice health           20 copper

Novice mana           20 copper

Novice stamina       20 copper

Novice poison        20 copper

Beginner health       40 copper

Beginner mana        40 copper

Beginner stamina    40 copper

Beginner poison      40 copper

Beginner paralytic   40 copper

Skills

Distillation                1 silver

Mass production      5 silver

There’s a nice selection of recipes and skills. I already know most of the novice level recipes. I don’t know the poison one, though. I’m curious if I can even use the beginner level recipes while I’m still a novice. Keans said advanced alchemy techniques could improve my potions. Maybe that’s what distillation does. Mass production doesn’t seem like something I need right now but may be a skill to invest in later. Still, those skills are expensive. I could get some good armor for the same price.

Allison finishes messaging her researcher friend, puts down the tablet and says “It’s all arranged. He’ll buy your vial of troll blood for eight silver. Minus my facilitator fee of one silver, you still make seven silver profit. My friend has already authorized the funds to be transferred to me so that I can pay you now.”

Seven silver? That’s more than I’d get from Allison or the job posting. “I accept his offer. I have another vial I can sell him at the same price.”

Taking a moment to message her friend, Allison confirms he’ll take both vials. Allison hands me fourteen silver coins. I put the money in my inventory and think about what to do next. This is the most money I’ve had but I know I need a lot of materials to put my plan to advance [Magical Engraving] into place. Making a decision I pull out a silver coin from my inventory.

“Allison, I’ve decided to buy some alchemy recipes and a skill from you. I have a question first. I’m still a novice at [Alchemy], can I use beginner level recipes?”

“Yes, and no. Nothing stops you from trying to produce a potion from an advanced recipe. Theoretically, a novice could try to craft a god level product from a recipe they purchased or found. The reality is that if your skill level does not match the recipe level the chances of succeeding in creating that item are lowered. The bigger the difference between skill and recipe level, the greater the chance of failure. The cost of ingredients for more advanced potions is higher too, so it’s not usually cost effective to fail at making potions.”

“Thanks for answering my question. Can you tell me what distillation is?”

“Distillation is a skill alchemists use to increase the potency of their potions by removing excess liquid portions using evaporation and condensation. That’s what those glass tubes over there are for. I have to advise you that the equipment for the distillation costs twenty silver and has to be special ordered.”

Seeing the look on my face when she mentioned the cost of equipment, she quickly continues, “However, if you learn the skill from me I would be willing to let you use the equipment in my shop. For a small fee of course.”

That deal definitely sounds better. I decide to purchase the recipes for novice poison, beginner health, and beginner mana potions. I also buy the training for distillation. I remember not having the right container when I made that healing potion at the kobold camp and buy a dozen glass vials for my potions. All total I end up spending two silver and twenty-four copper.

Allison shows me how to use the distillation equipment using some of the mana potions she has in her large pot. It’s actually not that hard. The system handles about half a gallon of liquid at a time. You put that liquid above a steady fire and part of the liquid evaporates into some twisting glass tubes. As the evaporated liquid rises up the tubes it cools becoming a liquid again. That liquid then collects into another container. After distillation, the half-gallon of light blue mana potion that Allison used turns into about four cups of dark blue liquid. That means you only get ¼ of the original volume after distillation. Allison pulls up the information on the potion before and after distillation to show me the difference between the two.

Beginner mana potion

This potion was created by an alchemist of great skill. It will restore 20 mana over 1 minute.

Beginner mana potion, distilled

This potion was created by an alchemist of great skill using an advanced alchemy technique to increase its potency. It will restore 30 mana over 1 minute.

So, you lose three-fourths of the original potion but it’s half again as strong. Allison warns me that while you can distil a potion multiple times, every time it’s distilled you increase the chances of ruining the potion.

For Allison, it makes more sense to make a large amount of a higher level potion than to try to distil a lesser potion multiple times and risk ruining it. However, for someone that’s not skilled enough to make beginner or intermediate potions, it’s worth the risk to get more powerful potions from a novice recipe.

Before leaving the alchemy shop I thank Allison for all her help in getting a great price on the troll blood and assure her I’ll be back to work on my potions soon. My next stop is to Dyblex to pay off my debt to her and take the weight of a potential marriage off my shoulders.

Chapter 5.2

Vrax is happy to move away from the alchemy shop and Mary removes her gas mask as we walk across town to Dyblex’s smithy.

As we walk through the shop, the bell above the door goes off and Dyblex greets us through the speaking tubes like she always has. “What do you want?” she yells.

“It’s me Armon and I have a friend with me.”

I hear a crashing sound from the back room and Dyblex comes running out with a curved knife in her hands. “What friend? Where is she? I’ll gouge the hussy’s eyes out.”

My eyes widen when I see her run out with the knife and I quickly point out that my friend is Vrax, a kobold. A male kobold. Mary mutters something about a stage five clinger but doesn’t comment otherwise.

After I explain that Vrax is a guy, Dyblex puts down the knife and tells me how happy she is to see me and that she’d been worried since Rex told her I was missing.

“Thank you for worrying but everything is ok. I helped out Vrax’s tribe and he came back with me. I did lose the shield you sold me, though. However, I wouldn’t have survived the fight I was in if it hadn’t been such a good shield. You’re an amazing craftsman...err...craftswoman...err...craftsgoblin?”

Blushing at the compliments to her craft Dyblex responds, “I’m glad my shield was able to save you. It’s every craft goblin's goal for the things they make to be useful to their owners. So, what can I do for you today sweetie?”

“First I’d like to pay back the debt I owe you. Then I’d like to talk about progressing in [Magical Engraving].” I take one silver and twenty-five copper out of my inventory and place it on the counter.

Dyblex looks at the coins on the counter but doesn’t pick up the money. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather get married?” She asks hopefully.

“I’ve told you before that I’m flattered, but not interested in marrying or mating with you Dyblex,” I tell her firmly.

“I know. It’s just that you’re the only human around here that’s nice to me. You helped me with that project and saved years of my research. I just wanted to show you how much it means to me.”

“Uh, huh. I bet she just wanted to ‘thank you’.” Mary snipes with her arms crossed.

Ignoring Mary’s comments, I tell Dyblex, “You’ve already shown me how much you appreciate my help Dyblex. If you hadn’t lent me the money for that shield and spear at a discount, I would have died fighting that troll. It’s also thanks to that I can get some better equipment and afford to work on [Magical Engraving] too.”

“Yup, yup. Good shield and good spear help save my tribe. I give many thanks to mighty Dyblex.” Vrax adds.

Speaking to Vrax, Dyblex says, “Thank you for the compliment kobold. Tell your friends how good they are, ok.”

Turning back to me she continues, “Troll? What troll? You said you helped the kobold tribe.”

I try to brush her question aside but she won’t let it go. So I end up explaining in detail all the events that happened. By the end of the story Dyblex’s mouth hangs open in disbelief. “You killed a level 8 troll when you were only level 2? My weapons are better than I thought.”

Laughing, I agree with her statement. “They are great tools. However, I don’t know if my plan would have worked if the kobolds didn’t have oil to soak the bottom of that pit for the fire. It got me thinking about how useful your [Interchangeable Spear] would have been if I had a spearhead with fire damage. That, of course, leads me back to [Magical Engraving]. Is it possible to make spear heads with different spells engraved on them and still have them work on the same spear shaft when attached?”

Snatching up the money on the table, Dyblex is silent for a moment while she contemplates the question. I receive a notification telling me that I’ve paid off my debt to Dyblex but I quickly dismiss it.

“I suppose it might work. The spear is considered one unit once the spearhead is secured. It shouldn’t matter whether you change the spearhead because it broke or because you want a different spell effect. However, to power the spell you’d have to make sure you had engraving lines on the shaft that connected to the spearhead perfectly every time. Otherwise, you’d have to hold the spearhead in your hands to power the spell and that would make the longer spear useless. It’s an interesting project.”

I jump up and down at the confirmation that my idea was workable. Then Dyblex brings me back down to her next statement.

“However, I don’t think you can make something like that right now. You’d need to have at least beginner level [Magical Engraving] skills to have a chance at success and the corresponding skill in magic to complete the transfer of energy. Sorry.”

“Thanks for letting me know it’s a doable project. That gives me something to work towards. I just have to get my skills up to beginner level. How do magical engravers raise their skills?”

“The same way everyone else does. Practice. There’s no way around that part of it. However, the thing that usually holds most engravers back is the experience cost of each item they make. The complexity of the spell and the size of the area engraved determine the experience point cost. If you want to raise your [Magical Engraving] skill quickly, I’d suggest starting with simple spells on small objects, then as that stops raising your skill to move onto more complicated spells on slightly larger objects.”

“Wow, that’s a surprisingly good strategy,” Mary says, surprised at Dyblex’s suggestions.

“Thank you for the advice Dyblex. I think I can work with that. In the meantime, I’d like to order another [Hidden Shield] from you. I’ll pay in advance this time.” I take out another two silver and hand it to Dyblex.

She takes the coins and pockets them. Thanking Dyblex for her time and the great advice we leave the shop and head back to the cabin.

Walking back across town I can’t help but notice the looks some people give Vrax. It bothers me but I know that yelling at people won’t change their opinions. I also consider what Dyblex said. That ‘I was the only human that had been nice to her’. Is that the reason she has her shop at the very back of town? I think about the implications of her statement and what Captain Smithe said about this being one of the most tolerant places. These thoughts bounce around my head on the walk home and I can’t help but feel that this world suddenly seems a little less magical.

Chapter 5.3

Returning home that day I get to work memorizing those ten arcane symbols so I can learn my first spells from Lilliandra. I can perfectly reproduce eight now but make small mistakes on the last two. Rex trains Vrax and me until dinner. He teaches me my first weapon abilities [Thrust] and [Shield Bash].

Thrust

You thrust your spear with additional force and speed.

Stamina Cost: 10

Shield Bash

You turn a defensive tool into a weapon. Bashing your opponent with your shield may stun them for a short period of time. 5% chance to stun the opponent for 3 seconds.

Stamina Cost: 10

When I ask him why he’s only teaching me these abilities now, he says to use an ability effectively you have to understand how your weapons work and what tactics to use first. I think that he decided to teach me the abilities after he heard how close the fight with the troll was. Either way, I’m glad to get some new abilities.

Rex is impressed with Vrax’s skill with the sling and the knife. He shows Vrax some moves to overcome the height advantage most opponents would have over him and suggests he learn some skills from Keans to take advantage of his naturally stealthy nature.

We train with Rex until it starts to get dark. Dinner is wonderful and after the meal, everyone decides to play Search and Sneak. Vrax understands how to play the game once I describe it to him. He says his tribe plays a similar game as hatchlings to teach everyone the importance of stealth. Rex takes the first turn at being it and everyone takes off in different directions. I’m excited to test out my [Darkvision] ability. As I leave the cabin and run into the woods away from the light, I activate [Darkvision]. I’m thoroughly amazed at the change in the environment around me. One minute the woods are dark and I have to move carefully to see two feet in front of me. The next moment everything is lit up. Everything is in shades of gray but I can see as clearly as I do during the day. Sure, I can’t see as far as I can during the day, only thirty feet or so in front of me but that’s still better than stumbling around in the dark.

Since I can see so well I decide to forgo using my [Sneak] skill and get creative. I decide to hide my tracks by hiding in the trees. I climb a tree and walk along its branches and jump to another close tree. I repeat this until I’m a good distance from the cabin. Since I traveled among the branches I’m hoping Rex has a harder time tracking me down. As I sit and wait in the branches of a tree, Mary flies near.

Watching her fly in circles I can tell something is bothering her. She hasn’t been nearly as talkative today as she normally is. In as low a whisper as I can manage, I ask,” Mary, is everything ok? You seem agitated.”

Mary stops flying in circles when I say her name and looks at me. Her mouth twists and fidgets as if she’s debating whether to say something or not. Making a decision, she lands on a branch of the tree that is eye height to me and says, “I’ve been meaning to talk to you since you got to level three and have been putting it off. You know that I’m your fairy guide, right?”

I nod. Not saying anything to interrupt her.

“That means that I’m supposed to teach you the basic rules of this world and help you get used to learning about the things that are different. Well, according to the official guide, that’s only supposed to last until you get to level 3. After that, I’m supposed to report back to the fairy guild for reassignment.”

Oh. I didn’t know that. I thought she’d be with me longer. I mean I never thought she’d stay with me for the rest of my life as a guide, but I didn’t think she’d have to leave so soon. I don’t know what to say. So I don’t say anything.

“I know I did my job and that you haven’t really needed me for a while. You have Lilliandra, Rex, and Keans to answer questions and train you now. I could have probably left before you reached level 3 and you would have been fine. But...” She says with a glimmer of a tear in her eyes.

“But what?” I prompt.

“But I don’t want to go! It’s been super fun these past months. Sure, sometimes you’re a spaz and you do stupid things but that’s ok. You get all my jokes and you make me laugh. I’ve been really happy being your guide and I just don’t want it to end.” She says this last part and tears start falling down her tiny cheeks.

I look at Mary crying and I don’t know what to do. She was the first person I met in this world. If it wasn’t for her I don’t think I would have survived my first day here. I think about all the time we’ve spent together, the first meal I made her. I remember watching her stuff her mouth full of that rabbit meat and wondering how she could eat it all. She was the first person I saw after I was attacked by the worg and I realize that I wasn’t scared because she was there when I woke. She’s been with me this entire time by my side.

“Don’t just sit there looking at me. Say something Armon!” she yells while wiping the tears from her eyes.

I mumble something she can’t understand. “What?” she asks.

I say it again a little louder. “I can’t understand you.” She tells me.

Building up my courage I yell, “So don’t go!”

She stands there quietly. A tear or two still falling down her cheek, waiting for me to say more.

“Why do you have to go? Stay with me. You’re my best friend Mary. You’re the only one that understands my stupid sense of humor. If you’re gone, who’s going to make movie puns? You’re the only other person on this whole world that’s even seen the Ghostbusters movie. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future but I know that I want to face it with you by my side.”

Wiping away the last of her tears and smiling slightly Mary asks, “You want me to stay? You sure? If I stayed I’d have to quit being a fairy guide. That means I couldn't access their information sources on monsters or the cities of the world.”

“I don’t want to keep you around for your ‘fairy guide’ resources, just you.”

“One more thing, though. I’d lose my fairy guide powers and start over at level 1.”

“That’s a pretty harsh penalty for quitting a job. You sure you want to give all that up?”

Nodding her head, Mary answers, “Yup. I’m tired of just being invisible to everyone and watching. I want to do….stuff.”

I see Mary looking at a box I can’t see and poke her finger in the air. “Ok. It’s all done. I’ve sent my resignation. It should only take them a moment to get it and…”

Suddenly a blue light surrounds Mary. It begins faintly, then pulses, again and again. With each pulse, the blue light around Mary gets brighter until I’m blinded by the light. I close my eyes and I have to deactivate [Darkvision] or risk going blind permanently. When I open my eyes again the forest is dark once more.

“Mary?” I ask the empty air.

“I’m right here. Wait, I’ll cast a light spell.” says a voice to my right. Suddenly a green glow appears around the now visible figure of Mary. “Guess it didn’t take long for the fairy guild to accept my letter of resignation, huh?”

Focusing on the space above Mary’s head I see that she is indeed level 1 now.

“Do you feel any different?” I ask her.

“Not really different. I’m still me, just less powerful.”

I see Mary poking the air with her fingers at some interface I can’t see.

“Yup, just like I thought. I don’t have access to the guide information network anymore. Sorry, we’re going to have to learn things the hard way from now on. It also looks like I don’t have any spells besides [Light], so I can’t go invisible anymore. Everyone will be able to see and hear me now.” She informs me.

“That’s ok. As long as you get to stay.” I smile and tell Mary.

Deciding that it’s probably better to introduce Mary to everyone instead of her just showing up in my bed, the two of us head back to the cabin. I remember to activate [Darkvision] after I trip over a tree root and it only takes us fifteen minutes to make it back home. As we exit the woods surrounding the cabin and approach the front, I see that everyone is already waiting for me on the front porch. Lilliandra has a staff in her hands, Rex his axe, and Keans his bow. Vrax just sits on the ground, seemingly unconcerned.

Approaching slowly I call out to everyone and I can see the tension flow out of them.

“Hey everyone, sorry if I worried you. I didn’t realize the game ended already.”

“No lad, Lilliandra sensed some strong magic from the forest and called us all back to the cabin in case it was an attack. We were just worried when you didn’t send a message or show up.” Keans informs me.

Looking at the corner of my vision I see a little icon that looks like an envelope that’s pulsing slightly. I didn’t notice it when I was talking to Mary. Focusing on the icon a message pops up.

To: Armon

From: Lilliandra

A strange magical energy is coming from the forest. Return to the cabin immediately.

“I told you the messaging tablet would let us communicate with you, Armon.” Lilliandra chides.

“I’m sorry, I was the source of the magical energy. Armon was with me.” Mary says in a whisper behind my back. Slowly she flies out from behind me and waves shyly at everyone.

“Who are you?” Lilliandra says coolly while pointing her staff in Mary’s direction.

Stepping between Lilliandra and Mary, I say “This is my friend Mary. Until recently, she’s been my fairy guide.”

At that statement, everyone starts asking questions and demanding explanations. I give an abbreviated version of the story to everyone. I tell them that when I woke up in the forest not knowing how I got there, it was Mary that helped me survive. Ever since then, she’d been invisibly with me, giving me information and helping guide me in this part of the world.

Lilliandra, being the mage of the group, asks “How could you have a fairy guide? They’re a very expensive resource to have. Only the richest families can afford to hire them for their children when they start adventuring.”

“I’m not sure who arranged for me to guide Armon. Client confidentiality and all. I just know that when I was supposed to go back I didn’t want to. I decided I’d rather start over with Armon.” Mary tells Lilliandra, only half lying.

I agree with Mary’s decision to omit that it was the Overlord God that arranged for her to guide me since I’m originally from an entirely different world. I think that would freak everyone out.

“Ha ha. Is she who you talk to at night? “Vrax asks me.

“You heard us talk?” I ask the kobold, surprised. I thought I’d made sure he was asleep before I talked to Mary.

“Yup, yup. Kobolds have good ears. I hear you talk to air at night. I thought you either have an invisible friend or you just crazy. I think it’s ok if you crazy, since only a crazy person helps kobold tribe fight a troll. Maybe all adventurers crazy.” Vrax answers.

Rex and Kean's roar with laughter when they hear that Vrax thought I was crazy. Even Lilliandra laughs, though she covers her mouth to stifle it.

“He’s not that far off I think. Adventurers do tend to be an eccentric lot. Remember One-Eyed Pete? He had this weird ability to fart poisonous gas. Said he’d gotten it from a scroll some swamp monster dropped.” Rex says to Lilliandra and Keans.

“Yes, yes. We’re all a bit crazy. Don’t try to change the subject Rex. We still have to discuss what we’re going to do about miss...Mary, was it?” Lilliandra says.

Mary flies out from behind me again, puts her hands on her hips and addresses Lilliandra, “Yes, Mary. You don’t have to ‘do’ anything about me. I’m fully capable of taking care of myself.”

Putting her hands up to subdue Mary’s budding anger. “That’s not what I mean. I understand that you can take care of yourself. You would never have been made a guide otherwise.” Mary nods and lets Lilliandra continue. “It’s just that you’ve been helping Armon all this time and now you’ve started over at level 1. We can’t just let you fly off into the woods to fend for yourself. I vote that you stay here in the cabin with us as a thank you for helping Armon.”

Mary blushes a little when she realizes that Lilliandra was only trying to offer her aid and not questioning her competence. “Thank you for the offer. I’ll be happy to stay. I’ve been sleeping in Armon’s room all this time anyways.”

“Well, I don’t know about you staying in Armon’s room…” Lilliandra trails off.

“No, that’s fine. Mary already has a space set up in my room. Besides Vrax is staying there too.”

Lilliandra looks like she wants to object but can’t see any reason to. “Ok, you’re all adults. However, if anything happens to Mary, I expect you to take responsibility, Armon.”

Mary blushes a deep red and covers her mouth in embarrassment and nods.

I agree to the terms as well. Then a notification pops up.

You’ve accepted Mary as a companion and are now responsible for her well-being. This is a bond that may only be broken by both parties. For more information see the [Companion] page.

After reading the notification I head inside the house to go to bed and everyone follows. It’s a little weird now that everyone can see Mary. I think she feels the same since she’s so quiet.

I wish everyone a good night's sleep before going to my room. Vrax and Mary follow.

Entering the room Vrax immediately says goodnight and curls up on the bed, falling asleep. Or at least he seems asleep. I’m not really sure after his comment about hearing me talk to Mary. Ignoring the fact that Vrax might be listening I have a couple questions for Mary.

“Mary, what’s this [Companion] thing? This is the second time I’ve gotten a notification about it.” I ask her after closing the door to the room.

Yawning, Mary answers. “Oh, that’s a fancy way of saying you’ve developed a bond with someone and are now able to see more detailed information about them. If you call up the [Companion] screen, you’ll see my health, mana, stamina. You’ll also see all my skills, abilities, and spells too. There are some abilities and spells that only work between companions but other than that there’s not much that changes once you become someone's companion.”

I call up the [Companion] screen and see two entries. One for Vrax, the other for Mary.

Vrax Level 4

Health: 30

Mana: 26

Stamina: 40

Skills: Stealth - Novice 9, Knife Mastery - Novice 7, Sling - Novice 6

Abilities: Backstab

Spells: None

Mary Level 1

Health: 14

Mana: 32

Stamina: 20

Skills: none

Abilities: none

Spells: Light

Looking over the information in the [Companion] screen I already see several possibilities to sculpt our group into a lean mean, monster killing machine. When I look up from the information screen I’ve been staring at, I see that Mary has already changed into her PJs and is asleep on the pillow on the bed. I lay down and fall asleep with images of a powerhouse team of magic Mary, sneaky Vrax, and Armon the magical engraver floating in my head.

Chapter 5.4

The next morning I talk to Vrax and Mary about each of our roles in our group. Turns out everyone has their own ideas about what they want to do in the group. Mary wants to be a ninja.

I shiver when I imagine Mary, garbed in dark clothing and a mask that only shows her green eyes, running silently through the forest, a shadow among shadows. I remind her that ninjas go through the roughest survival training, which includes learning how to eat bugs. That seems to put the idea out of her head. I think stealth training is a must since she has such low health but she has as much mana at level 1 as I do at level 3. I suggest she try to be a magical sniper. A long range spellcaster that casts powerful spells then disappears before the enemy figures out where they are. Mary likes the stealthy part and says she’ll think about it.

Vrax, on the other hand, wants to be a tank. Well, he says he ‘wants to defend his brood brother from harm’ so I think that’s what he means. When I ask him what kind of weapons he wants to use, he says that he once saw a knight in armor riding through the woods on a horse. He tells me how shiny and strong the man looked. Unfortunately, Vrax is afraid of horses. So, he wants to wear full plate mail and carry a lance around. I have to stifle a laugh when I imagine Vrax covered head to toe in heavy steel armor dragging around a lance three times his size. The poor kobold wouldn’t be able to move around in that much armor. Convincing Vrax to abandon the idea of an iron kobold takes a while but when I tell him I need him to protect me in a different way he starts to come around. I like Mary’s idea of having a ninja in the group, just not for her. I think Vrax would make an amazing ninja. He already has great stealth skills. I just have to figure out if they have ninja’s here on Terra. After describing how a stealthy approach will not only let Vrax protect me but also Mary, he agrees to work on those skills with Keans.

The next morning Mary and Vrax have special training with Keans and Rex and leave before the sun is even up. Mary leaves complaining about ‘fairies not being morning people’ but goes anyways.

I spend the morning with Lilliandra, finally mastering all ten of the arcane symbols she assigned me to learn: light, dark, water, fire, earth, air, force, self, life, and death.  When I reproduce all ten symbols perfectly, I get a notification.

You’ve completed the quest ‘Learn the Arcane Alphabet I’. You receive 10 XP and a magic lesson from Lilliandra.

Woot! My first magic lesson. Lilliandra smiles when she gets her own notification that I completed the quest. I bounce up and down with excitement waiting for Lilliandra to teach me about magic.

Lilliandra stands and begins pacing in front the table in the cabin. She holds her hands behind her back and begins her first magical lecture. “You have finally mastered the first ten symbols of the arcane language. You have done well to master them in only a few weeks. You still have much to learn but you now know enough to learn your first spells. First, you need to learn the skills [Magical Aura] and [Aura Projection]. [Magical Aura] is a passive skill that lets you connect directly to your mana pool. [Aura Projection] lets you project that mana out into the world. The two skills work together to let you tap into your mana and cast that mana into the world. Some spellcasters use their mana directly as a weapon but the type of spellcasting I’ll be teaching takes that projected mana and uses the structure of the arcane language to give shape to your spells.”

Raising my hand like a proper student, I wait till Lilliandra points to me with a smirk on her face before asking, “So, there are other ways to cast magic?”

“Yes. There are many paths to the same destination. Some races or classes have inheritable spells that don’t require spell writing or speaking. Mary, as a fairy, is deeply connected to the magical world around her and will gain access to spells automatically as she levels. Humans, with rare exception, don’t have this connection and had to develop their own way to tap into mana. If you travel the world you’ll find other countries and cultures have developed their own magical techniques.” Lilliandra answers.

“Why did you chose to learn this type of spellcasting then?”

Standing in front of me, Lilliandra thinks carefully before answering me, “I enjoy the flexibility and creativity that spell writing has. It may take longer to cast a spell but I’m not limited to any one type of magic and can specify all the details of the spell I want to cast.  Additionally, as a half-elf, I will have a much longer life than most humans and have the luxury of researching new ways of combining arcane symbols and searching runes for unknown symbols.”

That sounds perfect to me. I don’t want to be limited to the types of spells I can cast. I want to be able to heal or cast a fireball or enhance the skills of a teammate as the situation we’re in demands. “Spell writing sounds perfect to me. Plus it works perfectly with [Magical Engraving].”

“That is correct. Now, to get back to teaching you [Magical Aura] and [Aura Projection]. Are you ready to learn these skills?”

Seeing me nod, Lilliandra places her hands on my head then closes her eyes in concentration. A brief white glow appears around her head, travels to her hands, and a notification appears.

Lilliandra wants to transfer the skills [Magical Aura] and [Aura Projection]. Do you accept her transfer? Yes or No?

Well, this is new. Ummm...yes.

Suddenly a shooting pain slams into my mind. My body would collapse if I were not already sitting and Lilliandra weren’t holding my head. I feel like my skull has been cracked open and someone is pouring molten metal into my mind. I receive a stream of information on [Magical Aura] and [Aura Projection]. More information than I can consciously process. My brain feels like it’s on fire and I pass out.

When I gain consciousness again I’m laying down on the bench.

You’ve gained the skill [Magical Aura]

You’ve gained the skill [Aura Projection]

I sit up, dismiss the notifications and find Lilliandra sitting across from me at the table sipping some tea. “Welcome back. The first time someone transfers a skill to you is always the worst. Have some tea. It will help clear the cobwebs.”

I pour myself some tea from the teapot and feel the pain in my head recede. “What happened?” I ask Lilliandra.

“That was a skill transfer. Anyone that has sufficiently mastered a skill can transfer the basics of that skill to another person. It’s a quick way to help someone gain a skill or ability.”

“If skills can be transferred this way, why didn’t you just teach me this way from the beginning?”

“The biggest reason that Rex, Keans, and I haven't used this method to teach you is that it’s not really the best way to learn. Yes, you get information and access to a new skill this way but you lose the subtlety and depth of experience from learning on your own. Also, it costs the skill master experience points to transfer the skill so it’s not done casually. Some people make a good living selling rare skills.”

Oh. That makes sense. Why buy the [Construction] skill when you can just work for a week and learn it through practice? That makes me wonder why Lilliandra used this method now.

Answering my question before I ask it she continues, “The skills [Magical Aura] and [Aura Projection] would take you months of meditation to learn if you could at all. They are skills that any magical teacher would transfer before beginning magical training.”

“Oh, ok. Now, what?” I ask

Placing her cup of tea on the table, Lilliandra stands again and resumes her lecturing stance. “Now, you practice those skills until you’ve really learned them. Skill transfer only passes along knowledge and access to a skill. It doesn’t give you mastery over it. You still have to practice.

Skill Mastery

Lilliandra has transferred the skills [Magical Aura] and [Aura Projection] to you but you still need to practice them. Practice [Magical Aura] and [Aura Projection] until you reach Novice 2. Reward: 10XP. Accept or Decline?

I accept the quest and wait for instructions from Lilliandra.

Nodding when I accept the quest. Lilliandra continues. “Good. First, close your eyes and find the place inside of yourself where your mana lies. For some people, it appears like a clear still pool. For others a burning fire. Each person’s mana pool is slightly different. Nod when you’ve found your mana.”

I close my eyes looking for my mana pool. I instinctively focus on an area in the center of my body. At my core, I see a softly flowing stream in the middle of a forest. The sound of the water flowing over smooth rocks is very calming. I don’t know if this is a real place I’ve been or a construct of my mind, but I like it here. Having found my mana, I keep my eyes closed and nod.

“Good. Now use whatever imagery you’ve found to channel your mana to your hands and then your index finger. If you see fire, create a trail of wood to your hand for the fire to use. If you see water, create an image of it flowing to your arms.” Lilliandra says

I sit and focus on the calm flowing stream. I imagine myself taking a branch from one of the trees and digging a trench that extends from my core up my body to my arm and then to my hand and finally to my index finger. When I break the barrier between the stream and the trench I feel a flow of energy extend from my core through my body all the way to the tip of my index finger.

“Now open your eyes and look at your hand.”

I open my eyes and look down and see my hand enveloped by a blue light. The index finger of my right hand glows brightest. I wave my hand and see an afterglow of blue energy as my hand passes through the air. So that’s how Lilliandra made that glow when she was spell writing. When I think about Lilliandra spell writing the glow around my hand disappears.

“What happened?” I ask Lilliandra.

“Well, you lost focus. To keep the mana flowing to your finger you need to maintain focus on your imagery. If you allow yourself to get distracted the skills stop working. Now, start again.”

I repeat all the steps of finding my mana and imagining a calm stream. I again dig a trench to my finger and break the barrier between the stream and the trench. When I open my eyes I see my hand and finger glowing again. The whole process takes only a couple of minutes but that’s an eternity in a fight. I’ll have to work on shortening that time.

Once I’ve sent my mana to my finger again and it doesn’t disappear, Lilliandra says “Good, keep your focus on your imagery. Now write in the air while imagining a stream of your mana flowing out and floating.”

I do as she says and find that I can draw with the blue glow. As long as I can imagine the flow of blue glow flowing out of me, the line of mana stays in the air.  I laugh as I draw figures and words in the air. I’m working on a picture of a pony when my head begins to throb. I continue drawing for a few moments longer then the room starts to spin and the glow around my finger disappears. When my vision clears I see the images in the air stay a moment then fade away.

Putting a hand to my temple, I ask Lilliandra, “What happened this time. I was focusing like you told me.”

Chuckling, Lilliandra moves to the table and pours me another cup of tea and informs me, “Drink. It will help restore your mana. You ran out.”

I take the cup of tea in one hand and bring up my [Status] screen. It does say Mana: 0/48.  Thinking about how I felt when I ran out of stamina, it makes sense that something similar would happen when I ran out of mana. Looking at my status screen I realize I never put the free stat points I got when I leveled anywhere and add all five to my intelligence, bringing it up to twenty-two. My mana changes to 15/63. I continue to drink tea and rest for another ten minutes until my mana is fully restored.

“Now that your mana is all restored, let us try the next step in spell casting. Instead of drawing ponies, try to draw the symbols for ‘light’ and ‘self’.”

I nod and begin the process of drawing mana to my finger. When there is a healthy blue glow around my finger I draw the arcane symbols for light and self. The two symbols glow for a moment then fade away.

“Good. Do it again but say the words for those symbols this time.” Lilliandra instructs.

I follow the exact same process as last time but as I draw the symbols for ‘light’ I say the word xul. As I draw the symbol for ‘self’, I say Ius. As I finish speaking the last syllable of lus, the written words brighten for a moment then disappear suddenly and I feel a loss of energy.

You've gained a level in [Magical Aura]. Novice 2.

You've gained a level in [Aura Projection]. Novice 2.

You’ve completed the quest ‘Skill Mastery’. You receive 10 XP.

I ignore the notifications as a white glow gathers around my body. Slowly the glow brightens until my head starts to throb and the room spins again. Then the white glow disappears.

Clapping her hands and smiling Lilliandra tells me, “Congratulations. You have cast your first spell, [Light].”

I feel rather proud. I’m a spell caster. I’d feel prouder if it wasn’t for this headache. Still sitting, I pour myself another cup of tea and sip it while I ask Lilliandra some questions.

“I get while it’s called the [Light] spell, I used the arcane symbol for ‘light’. Why did I have to use the symbol for ‘self’ through?” I ask.

“The ‘light’ symbol gathers the element and the ‘self’’ symbol directs the energy somewhere. Once you finished saying the last part of xul Ius you likely felt the mana being pulled from you to power the [Light] spell as it gathered light energy around your body. Because ‘self’ identifies your whole body, the amount of mana used to power it is large. If you had used the symbol for ‘hand’ instead of light you would have been able to sustain the spell longer.” Lilliandra answers while pacing in front of me.

“Ok, that makes sense. Are there symbols that could have modified the amount of light gathered? Or does mana just get drawn until a certain threshold is reached?”

Looking at me and smiling, she responds “Those are excellent questions. Yes, there are modifying symbols that change how much of an element a symbol like ‘light’ will gather. If you wanted to be slightly more precise you could have added the symbols for ‘small’, ‘medium’, or ‘large’ and visualized the effect you were looking to create. If you wanted even more control, adding symbols for number values would give you varying sizes too. Though to get exactly what you wanted would require some experimenting. That is one of the things I love the most about spell writing, the experimentation.”

Thinking about all the possible symbol combination for just a [Light] spell, I’m staggered. No wonder there are so many symbols in the arcane language and it takes so much time to master it. Changing or adding just one symbol can greatly affect the spell's mana consumption and what it does.

“Now that you have practiced [Magical Aura] and [Aura Projection], for your final lesson today, I want you to experiment with mental imagery control. This is another way you will be able to control how much mana goes to power your spells. Imagine different ways of restricting the flow of your mana to your spells or cutting off the energy entirely. After all, you need to be able to stop a spell as well as start it.”

The Power of Imagination

Lilliandra wants you to learn how to control the flow of mana to your spells. Experiment with different mental imagery to gain control of the flow of your mana.

Reward: Skill [Mana Control] and 10 XP.

I’m glad I’m sitting because this spell work is surprisingly tiring. When I’ve recovered my mana I start casting [Light] on myself again. I sense my mana and connect the flow to my finger. I draw the symbols for the spell and speak the words. Again the spell draws a portion of my mana. This time I have my [Status] up and see I’ve already spent twenty-six mana just to start the spell. Watching my mana drop slowly I see that it takes another five mana every second to sustain the spell. No wonder the light around me is so bright. At this rate, I can only sustain this spell for seven seconds. Once seven seconds passes the spell does indeed expire when my mana runs out.

Over the next two hours, I experiment with various mental imagery. Whenever I run out of mana I rest until my mana recovers. The first image I try is to grasp the stream of mana at my core with mental hands to restrict the flow but just like water it flows through my fingers without changing anything. After many fruitless experiments, I try using the image of a dam placed between my mana stream and the trenches I’ve built that carry the mana to my hand. The imagery causes the flow of mana to the [Light] spell to stop immediately. Now I know how to stop a spell but I still haven’t figured out how to control how much mana goes to the spell.

Building on the success I’ve achieved, I imagine a large valve attached to the mental dam. That does the trick. The valve element of the dam lets me pour varying degrees of mana into the spell. If I open the valve all the way I get the original effects of the spell but if I close the valve half way I cut the initial casting cost from twenty-five to fifteen mana and it only costs about two mana a second to maintain the spell. The brightness of the [Light] spell is halved as well.

When I finish these experiments I’m happy to see that I’ve completed the quest ‘The Power of Imagination’.

You’ve completed the quest ‘The Power of Imagination’. You receive 10 XP.

You’ve learned the skill [Mana Control].

Wisdom +1

Woot! Stat increase. I do a little happy dance in my mind. Lilliandra claps again when she’s notified that I completed the quest.

“Congratulations, Armon. You have finished your first lesson in magic. Now all that is left is for you to practice. For the next week, experiment with the arcane runes you have mastered and the new skills you have learned.”

I stand up and hug Lilliandra. “Thank you for taking the time to teach me the mysteries of magic. A part of me didn’t believe that I’d be able to do it.”

Lilliandra hugs me back, acknowledging my thanks.

By the time we finish my first magic lesson it’s lunch time. Rex and Keans enter the cabin ready to eat a good lunch. Following them, are a bedraggled looking Mary and Vrax. The two are covered in mud and dirt. Mary is so tired that she’s flying in a zig-zag pattern until she lands on the table. Vrax doesn’t seem to mind the dirt but has a few bruises along his arms and legs. When he sits at the table he winces slightly.

I help Keans make a lunch of rabbit meat sandwiches and salad for everyone. Keans bought bread this morning from one of the nearby farms, so the sandwiches are great. Vrax and Mary look better after their first couple bites of lunch and I’m glad that eating good food provides health and stamina regenerations bonuses. While we eat lunch I tell everyone about the success of my first magic lesson. They’re happy to have another magic user around.

Mary and Vrax tell me about their early morning training with Rex and Keans. The two spent the morning running through the obstacle course wearing weights and working in the training ring. Mary gained one point in strength from the obstacle course but that was probably because it was so low in the first place. During weapons training, Vrax got to try out the rapier, the short sword and throwing knives. Unfortunately, Rex didn’t have any weapons in Mary’s size so she spent her time in the training ring gaining and working on [Unarmed Combat]. Mary complains loudly about having to spend her time dodging and flying to avoid getting hit by Rex. I understand how frustrating it can be to not to be able to strike back when sparring with Rex and nod at her complaints sympathetically.

Once everyone finishes lunch Vrax and Mary leave with Keans for some stealth training. I decide to join them. Never can be too stealthy after all. The four of us spend the afternoon playing Search and Sneak. Keans teaches us a new way to hide or sneak then two of us go practice those techniques in the woods as the ‘sneakers’. The third person is coached by Keans in a few tracking skills and they have to find the other two. Mary is by far the best ‘sneaker’. She’s quick, small, and since she can fly is able to hide in places Vrax and I don’t look or can’t reach. She quickly gains the [Sneak] and [Hide] skills and in a single afternoon raises their levels to novice 3. Vrax is the best tracker of the three of us. I think it’s his keen sense of smell. Whatever it is, he gains the skills [Search] and [Track]. I guess I’m not a very good tracker since I don’t gain the skill but I do raise my [Search] skill to novice 5.  We play Search and Sneak until it gets dark and Mary’s stomach grumbles. We head back to the cabin where we eat a hearty dinner and go to sleep, tired but satisfied with our progress.

Chapter 5.5

The next week Vrax, Mary, and I train. Every morning Vrax and Mary work with Rex and Keans on building their stats and training with weapons they might use. Vrax focuses on the short sword and a small shield for most of his training but also learns how to throw knives. Rex gets Mary a staff sized for her and she practices with that during weapons training.

Even though Mary trains really hard she is unable to raise her strength above seven through training. Rex says it’s probably a consequence of her being a fairy. There are some inherent racial characteristics that can’t be overcome easily. For instance, it turns out that only humans get five free stats every time they level. It’s a reflection of their adaptability. All other races on Terra raise four of their stats automatically every level and get a single free stat point to distribute. How that race automatically distributes their stats reflects what they’re good at naturally. Mary, as a fairy will gain two to dexterity, one to Intelligence, and one wisdom every level. Vrax gains two to dexterity, one to intelligence and one to constitution. They both have naturally low strength so it’s harder for them to raise that stat. If they really want to raise a stat they’re low in, they get one free stat point every level that they can put there.

Every morning I practice my magic skills and experiment with the arcane symbols I know.

I learn fairly quickly why Lilliandra insisted that I know how to stop the flow of mana to a spell. Spell writing ‘fire’ and ‘self’ catches my clothes and hair on fire and ‘force’ and ‘self’ knocks me on my ass. If I hadn’t known how to stop the spell I might have been badly hurt. Combining the arcane symbols of the different elements creates new effects. ‘Earth’ and ‘water’ creates the spell [Mud]. If I write out ‘fire’ and ‘water’ I get the spell [Steam]. Other elements just cancel each other out. ‘Light’ and ‘darkness’ cancel as do ‘death’ and ‘life’. The most useful combinations are definitely associated with the ‘life’ symbol. Spell writing it on another person creates the [Heal] spell and ‘life’ and ‘self’ heals me with the spell [Heal Self]. ‘Dark’ and ‘self’ creates the spell [Darkness] which gathers a cloud of darkness around me that makes it really hard to see me at night. I can only sustain most of the spells I try for a few seconds but it’s still fun to play around with all the combinations of arcane symbols.

In the afternoons the three of us work on stealth skills and group combat techniques. Stealth seems to be Mary’s forte since her [Sneak] and [Hide] skills skyrockets to novice level 7 during stealth training.

Our group training takes a while to progress. Rex faces all three of us in a mock battle and at first, we get our butts kicked. Rex knocks out Mary and Vrax quickly and then it’s just him and me. I get knocked out soon after. It’s not until Rex demonstrates what good group skills look like that I get an idea about how to plan our team attack. Rex and Keans demonstrate their stealth attack. The two stand in front of the three of us then Rex uses a special skill called [Taunt] that draws all of our eyes to him as he screams at us. While we are all looking at Rex, Keans just disappears. The next time we see him he’s standing behind us pointing his bow and arrow at us. It was a pretty slick move. I think I can modify it to work for our group.

The next time Vrax, Mary, and I train with Rex we implement our plan. Facing Rex, the three of us stand prepared for combat. The moment Rex yells ‘start’ I rush forward with my shield and spear trying to catch Rex off guard. He meets my charge with his sword and he doesn’t see when Vrax sneaks behind him. Vrax activates his [Backstab] skill stabbing Rex in his lower back. Rex turns around to slash at Vrax but the kobold has already retreated out of range of his sword. Once Rex’s focus shifts to Vrax, Mary makes her move. Unknown to him she had snuck over on the back of Vrax behind Rex and flown directly over his head while she prepared her [Light] spell. When Rex slashed at Vrax she casts her spell on her staff and slams it into the eyes of Rex blinding him. The moment Rex is blind, Vrax moves behind him and I bash him with my shield sending him tumbling backward over Vrax. As soon as Rex hits the ground he starts to laugh loudly and calls a halt to the practice. It takes Rex a minute to get his vision back but when he gets up off the floor he is grinning. He congratulates the three of us on our great teamwork and points out that once we had him on his back we could have killed him. That night at dinner Rex recounts our stunning moves much to the delight of both Lilliandra and Keans.

The three of us go to bed feeling great about our teamwork skills.

At the end of the week, Vrax and Mary’s stats have increased a bit and we’ve all gained skills. Looking at the [Companion] screen I see that both of their health points have increased. Due to the combination of constitution training and his level, Vrax now has more health points than I do! Good for him. His high dexterity means he’ll be a great attacker and his improved health means he will be able to absorb more damage. Mary still only has one spell but can survive an attack or two now. I’ll have to talk to Mary to see how she can learn more spells.

Now, though, we’re going to work on leveling Mary. She’s only level 1 and if we plan to work in the dungeon near Restrian, she’ll need to be at least level 4. For the next two days, the three of us hunt every horned rabbit we can find. I play the role of the tank, drawing the rabbit's attention and taking the damage. Vrax weakens the rabbit with sneak attacks and Mary finishes it with an attack from above. By the end of the second day of horned rabbit hunting, Mary’s gotten to level 2.

When Mary gets her level up notice she also gets the opportunity to choose a new fairy spell. She shows me the options available to her.

Please choose a new spell: Nature's Grasp, Summon Nature’s Ally I, Flare, or Light Heal.

Nature’s Grasp

Nature herself responds to your call. A patch of thorny vines springs from the earth to entangle your enemies.

Mana: 10; Lasts 1 minute. Cannot be cast on locations that would be unable to support plant life.

Summon Nature’s Ally I

You summon an ally from nature. The chosen creature is completely obedient to the summoner. The creature will stay summoned for 1 minute per level of the caster. High wisdom increases the amount of time the creature can stay summoned.

Mana: 30

Creatures available to be summoned: Dire Rat, Eagle, Monkey, Octopus, Owl, Snake, Wolf

Flare

Cast forth a burst of fire from your palms.

Mana: 10; 5-7 Fire damage to all creatures caught in the burst of fire. High Intelligence increases damage.

Light Heal

You can heal yourself or another person for a small amount of health.

Mana: 15; Restores 5-7 points of health. High Intelligence increases health healed.

Mary explains that every other level she’ll get to choose another spell but that spells available now may not be available later. It’s a tough decision, but based on the fact that I can now heal the group and that we can use mana and health potions, I suggest that she focus on damage spells. Mary chooses [Summon Nature’s Ally I] since the animal that is summoned can be commanded to attack an enemy.

After Mary selects her new spell the three of us head to the village to pick up the [Hidden Shield] I’d ordered from Dyblex and to sell all of the rabbit meat and rabbit furs we collected. I go into Dyblex’s shop alone to pick up my shield and I’m happy to have it with me again. We get twenty copper for the rabbit meat and fur. On the way out of town, I see the bookstore that Lilliandra got the children stories I read from. I decide to stop inside to see what they have.

Walking through the door the first thing I notice is the sense of calm in the place. No one was yelling at me or assaulting me with weird odors. There’s a brunette woman sitting at the room’s single table on the opposite side of the room. Her hair is up in a bun and she wears a white robe with a simple black belt. Every other wall of the room has bookshelves filled with tomes, pamphlets, and scrolls. When she notices the three of us, the woman barely looks up from the book she is reading and says, “Hello, is there anything I can help you with?”

Looking at all the books everyone in the group seems a little intimidated. I look at the bookish young woman and respond, “I’m interested in buying a book.”

Mary rolls her eyes and mutters, “Gee, I don’t think she would have figured that out. Us coming into a bookstore and all.”

The young woman must have heard Mary because she smiles slightly when she asks me, “Was there a particular book that you or your friends were looking for?”

“I don’t have anything in mind. Can you tell me the types of books you sell here?” I ask.

The woman nods, “I’m Coraline, an acolyte of the Cognito sect. We collect and distribute knowledge throughout Terra. We carry a selection of local histories, fictional stories, profession recipes, spellbooks, and spell scrolls.”

“What’s the difference between a spell scroll and a spellbook?” I ask.

Mary flies up behind me and kicks me in the head. “Don’t embarrass me. Spell scrolls are copies of spells that are one time use only items. Spellbooks teach spells to the person using them. Once the spell is learned it is destroyed. It’s kind of like the way skills can be transferred.”

Rubbing the back of my head I shake my finger at Mary. “Please stop doing that. People can see you now you know.”

Coraline and Vrax laugh at the exchange. Coraline says “Your friend is correct. A spell scroll will let you cast a spell once. A spellbook lets you cast the spell forever after. If you're interested in spellbooks we have a good selection of beginner spells.”

“Really? Can you show me?” I ask eagerly.

Coraline nods and takes out a sheet of paper. She beckons me to the desk and pushes the paper toward me.

Charm Person - Charms a single humanoid.

Faerie Fire - An object is outlined in blue, green, or violet light.

Light - A small globe of light appears where you point at.

Poison Spray- Spray poison from your hand at the target.

Acid Splash- Throw a bubble of acid at a target.

Ray of Frost- Cast a ray of light that does cold damage.

Magic Missile - Cast three darts of magical force at the target.

Sleep- Send creatures within the area of the spell to sleep.

Shield- A magical force surrounds you increasing your armor for a time.

Woah. That’s a lot of spells. I want them all!

“How much?” I ask, my eyes glued to the paper.

“Each of these spellbooks can be yours for the low low price of your soul,” Mary says in a deep announcer voice.

Coraline frowns slightly at Mary but answers me seriously, “These simple spells are five silver a piece.”

“I didn’t know a soul was only worth five silver.” Vrax comments pulling on my shirt and sounding a little sad.

Mary files over to Vrax pats him on his scaly head and tells him, “Don’t worry, I was only joking. Your soul is worth much more.” This seems to make Vrax happy.

I check my [Inventory] screen and see I only have eight silver and fifty-one copper. The group has additional twenty copper. Buying a single spellbook will drain a majority of our funds. Still, it might be worth it. Mary still doesn’t have any offensive spells. In a fight, after she summons her animal ally she’ll be sort of helpless.

“Which of the offensive spells on the list have the longest range?” I ask the bookseller.

Caroline pulls another book from near the desk and references some table. “[Acid Splash] and [Ray of Frost] have a sixty-foot range. Magic missile has a range of one hundred and twenty feet. If this is the first spell you’ve ever bought, I’d suggest [Magic missile], it might do less damage than the other two but it tracks your target and never misses.”

“I’ll take the spellbook for [Magic Missile].”

Caroline gets up out of her seat once I tell her I intend to purchase something. She moves to a bookshelf behind the desk climbs a ladder and pulls a thin book with a red cover from the shelf. Placing the book on the table between us she patiently waits for me to place the money on the table to complete the purchase. I only hesitate for a moment and withdraw the funds from my [Inventory] and place the five silver on the table. Caroline takes the money and slides the spellbook to me.

I pick up the spellbook and examine it. It just looks like a thin book with a red cover. Nothing too special. I try to hand the book to Mary to use, but she just crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asks.

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m giving you the spellbook.” I answer and try to hand her the book again.

“I thought you bought that for yourself?” She says while still refusing the book.

“Here, take it. It’s for you. I can probably figure out a way to replicate the spell once I learn more arcane symbols, but you can’t. We need you to have at least one damage dealing spell. [Magic Missile] has a great range and it doesn’t miss. It’ll be perfect for our magical sniper.” I tell her.

Mentioning her role in the group seems to get through to her. She bites her lower lip while she thinks about whether or not she should take the spellbook.

“Are you sure? It’s an awful lot of money.” Mary asks.

“If Mary doesn’t want. I’ll take the spellbook. I can be mighty kobold wizard.” Vrax chimes in waving his hands in the air pretending to cast a spell.

Mary quickly flies to the book and lands on it. Hugging the book in her small arms, she gives Vrax a dirty look. “I didn’t say I didn’t want it. I just wanted to make sure Armon was ok giving it.” Looking at me she then continues, “Thank you, Armon. If you’ll put the book on the table I’ll read it now to learn the spell.”

I place the spellbook on the table and Mary lifts the cover open with both arms. I can see that the pages of the book are covered in arcane symbols. I only recognize a few from my brief glimpse because as soon as Mary opened the book she is enveloped in a white halo and the pages start to turn on their own. Soon the book finishes flipping to the end and closes on its own. The glow around Mary’s head disappears and the spellbook crumbles to dust.

Caroline appears to have expected this to happen since she quickly pulls out a dustpan and sweeps up the remnants of the spellbook. “Will there be anything else?” She asks. When I shake my head no, she sits back down and resumes reading her book.

The three of us walk out of the bookstore and back home a little lighter in funds but much better prepared for our future battles.

On the walk home, I review my [Status] screen to see how I’m doing.

Name: Armon Ellington

Age: 19

Level: 3

Class: none

Titles: none

Exp to next level: 265

Health: 39

Stamina: 52

Mana: 63

Strength: 16

Dexterity: 17

Constitution: 18

Intelligence: 22

Wisdom: 12

Charisma: 12

Damage:                  8 - 10

Defense:                  11

Skills

Sneak: Novice 6 (32%)

Observe: Novice 4 (21%)

Craftsman: Novice 2 (3%)

Firestarter: Novice 2 (61%)

Cooking: Novice 5 (17%)

Spear Mastery: Novice 6 (4%)

Unarmed Combat: Novice 1 (2%)

Shield Mastery: Novice 2 (4%)

Logging: Novice 4 (89%),

Workhorse: Novice 3 (21%)

Carpentry: Novice 3 (9%)

Construction: Novice 3 (90%)

Knife Mastery: Novice 2 (11%)

Herbalism: Novice 5 (23%),

Sleight of Hand: Novice 3 (1%)

Search: Novice 5 (45%)

Shield Mastery: Novice 4 (13%)

Alchemy: Novice 1 (3%)

Magical Aura: Novice 2 (92%)

Aura Projection: Novice 2 (85%)

Mana Control: Novice 2 (79%)

Abilities

Darkvision, Thrust, Shield Bash

Spells

None

Arcane Symbols Known

light, dark, water, fire, earth, air, force, self, life, and death.

Chapter 6.1

Now that I’ve learned some magic I decide to try my hand at [Magical Engraving]. From what Dyblex and Lilliandra have told me it’s just a matter of applying spell writing to an object. I know that I’m not experienced enough to work on anything complicated so I decide to try to create a [Light] charm. I start off with a flat piece of wood the size of my palm. I use the small chisel and hammer from the engraver kit to remove wood in the shape of the arcane symbol for ‘light’. Holding the piece of wood in my hands I visualize every contour and line of the symbol in my mind. In my mind, I pour as much mana into the symbol as I can until a notification pops up.

You’ve lost 20 XP.

You’ve enchanted an item with the [Light] spell.

You’ve learned the skill [Magical Engraving].

Magical Engraving

This skill allows the user to engrave magical spells onto an item at the cost of the user's experience points. The more complex the spell or item, the higher the experience point cost.

Novice 1 (1%)

Bonus: Magical engraving costs 1% less mana.

Checking my [Status] screen I see it cost twenty mana to set the spell into the wood and twenty experience points. At least I got the [Magical Engraving] skill. That experience point cost is no joke, though. The loss of twenty experience points wipes out most of the experience I gained working with Lilliandra last week and that was just for a spell that had one arcane symbol. I’m going to need more experience points. Maybe it’s time to try that dungeon everyone keeps talking about.

While everyone is out training, I head to the dungeon near Restrian. It’s only an hour walk north of the village. The entrance is always manned by four heavily armed guards just in case something from the dungeon tries to escape. There are four groups of adventurers waiting at the entrance to the dungeon ranging from levels four to six. Lining up behind them I overhear parts of their conversations.

The group closest to the entrance are all wearing leather armor. “That vine blight almost got you last time. Lucky we got to you in time. I keep telling you…” I don’t catch the rest of their conversation as they walk into the entrance of the dungeon.

Another group is wearing fur coats and tell a member of their group, “I told you to dress warmer. The ice on the next level is brutal.” They walk ahead of me, put their hand on a bronze plate attached to the wall and disappear.

Once it’s my turn to enter the dungeon I look expectantly at the guards and wait a second to see if they’ll stop me from entering. One of the guards looks at me and grunts. Walking past him I think I hear him mumble “Good luck.” I walk up to the bronze plate the others touched and wait for something to happen. Nothing does.

An adventurer behind me yells, “You new or something? That teleportation plate only works after you’ve cleared a level of the dungeon. Keep moving, some of us have work to get to.”

I quickly move past the entrance, deeper into the dungeon. This first level of the dungeon looks like a series of tunnels with an occasional glowing crystal embedded in the wall. I equip my shield and spear as I walk down the tunnel. Reaching the end of the tunnel I see a path that extends left and right. Looking left I see that the tunnel disappears into the dark and activate my [Darkvision] ability. The tunnel lights up as if it’s full daytime. I can see into just about every portion fairly clearly. Down the left branch of the tunnel, I see a rat large enough to give a small dog a heart attack. If I didn’t have [Darkvision] the rat would have ambushed me when I entered the dark part of the tunnel. I walk down the left path at a normal pace so the rat doesn’t realize I’ve spotted it. Once I get in range I turn towards the rat and thrust with my spear catching it by surprise.

Damage dealt: 7 (Sneak Attack)

The rat takes my attack with an angry squeak and rushes up to me. I can see its sharp teeth and don’t want anything to do with those, so I swing my shield up and use my ability [Shield Bash]. I feel a small drain of energy as my shield propels forward hitting the rat square in its nose.

Damage dealt: 4

The furry creature sits there stunned for a moment and I finish it off with a stab from my spear.

Damage dealt: 5

You’ve killed a Giant Rat level 4. You receive 20 XP.

Awesome! One kill and I’ve already made up the experience points I spent making that [Light] charm. These giant rats aren’t that tough. I wonder if I can take them out if I use my spear two-handed. Worth a try.

I put my shield back in my inventory and grip my spear with both hands. It’s been awhile since I’ve used it this way but I know I’ll do more damage using it two handed.

The giant rat didn’t drop anything and I move forward down the corridor. I see another creature in the distance and slow down to use [Sneak]. I walk slower but I also make less sound. Moving closer I see it’s another giant rat and that it’s gnawing on a large bone. I creep up behind the rat but it senses me before I reach striking distance. It spins around and instead of attacking it shrieks. The sound hurts my ears a little but doesn’t seem to do much else. I rush forward abandoning all attempts at stealth and stab at the rat. I miss as it skitters to the right. I don’t stop the force of my blow, instead, I pull to the right and hit the rat with the bladed edge of my spear.

Damage dealt: 4

The rat bleeds from the blow and hisses. Before I can land another blow I hear a chittering sound from behind the giant rat. From a hole in the wall, two more giant rats appear. Guess that shriek earlier was this guy calling for backup.

Now that I’m facing three opponents I’m a little nervous. I don’t have time to pull my shield from my [Inventory], so I’ll just have to kill them as quickly as possible. That means going on the offense. I use my [Thrust] ability on the first giant rat and feel my spear-rush forwards and pierce the rat.

Damage dealt: 10

It screams as it dies and the other two rats rush forward enraged. I receive a notification but wave it away as I retreat a few spaces. I still have the range advantage as I face my two opponents. I use [Thrust] on the giant rat on the left and pierce it straight through.

Damage dealt: 13

I wave away another notification as I see the last giant rat rush forward and bite my leg when I kill its comrade. I feel its sharp fangs clamp down on my calf.

Damage received: 6

It hurts when the rat bites me but it’s not as painful as when Rex wallops me in practice. I lift my spear in the air and slam the butt end of it onto the rat forcing it to release its hold on my calf.

Damage dealt: 6

I try to slam the spear butt on the rat again but it moves back. Instead of trying to move forward, I slide the spear up overhead until I’m just grasping the bottom end of the spear in both hands and slam the entire thing down onto the rat. The increased range of the spear really pays off and I hear a loud crack as the head of the spear hits the giant rat, full force.

Damage dealt: 11

You’ve killed a Giant Rat level 4. You receive 20 XP.

I check the other notifications I waved away during the fight and find two more just like that one. In total, I’ve gained 80 XP in less than an hour. That’s so much better than hunting level 1 horned rabbits all day.

I pull up my [Status] screen and see I have thirty-three health and twenty-two stamina left. I draw the arcane symbols for [Heal Self] and feel a warmth spread through my body as the spell takes effect. Looking at my [Status] screen I see my health rise to its maximum of thirty-nine and my mana drop by twenty. I wonder how much I can self-heal if I adjust my mana flow to the spell. Guess that’s something I’ll have time to experiment with if I keep getting bit by these rats.

I’ll have to bring Vrax and Mary with me next time. Even if we split the XP between the three of us, it’s still better than traipsing through the forest.

All healed up, I check what the rats dropped when I killed them. Only one dropped anything and that was a set of rat teeth. Eww. I drop it in my inventory and move on.

Chapter 6.2

I walk down the corridor until I reach another junction. There are three paths ahead of me. One goes to the left, one goes straight, and the last goes to the right. Peering down each I don’t see much difference between them and decide to head down the middle one.

I walk for a few minutes and nothing attacks me. It’s actually a bit worrisome. In all the stories, if they make you wait then something worse is ahead. As soon as I think this, I hear a grinding noise and feel my left foot sink slightly into the ground.

Shoot, I triggered a trap. I look around frantically for poison-tipped arrows or a pit but see nothing. Instead, I hear a grinding sound that gets louder and louder. Before too long the grinding sound turns into a crashing sound and up ahead of me I see a giant boulder hurtling towards me. I quickly turn around and run as fast as I can back the way I came. I pump my legs for all they’re worth but the boulder is right behind me. As I look ahead I see a slab of rock slowly descending from the ceiling, cutting off my path. I feel my muscles burn as I put every ounce of energy into moving my legs faster. I’m almost to the corridor entrance and slide under the slab of rock coming down.

Unfortunately, I forget my spear is taller than I am and feel it slam into the slab, slip from my grip and clatter to the floor on the other side of the descending rock wall. I reach frantically for my spear. The wall is only inches from the floor and the boulder only moments away from crashing into it. Finally, my fingers touch the shaft of the spear and I pull it towards me only an instant before the rock wall settles onto the ground, cutting me off from the middle path. A moment later the whole cave shakes as the boulder slams into the barrier. I sit there panting, out of breath and almost out of stamina. Damn, Indie made it look so easy.

After resting long enough to recover my stamina I get up and dust myself off. I have two more paths to choose from now. Left or right? I go left this time. Can’t be any worse than the middle path right?

Walking down the left path I’m immediately attacked by a giant rat. I only take five points of damage and kill it with my [Thrust] ability. It doesn’t drop anything but before it died it called out to the other giant rats with a shriek. Before I can heal myself, three more rodents of unusual size appear. The three rats rush me before I can attack them and I have to leap back or get bitten by three sets of sharp teeth. I swing my spear horizontally like I’m swinging a bat and connect with one of the rodents.

Damage dealt: 6

I hit a home run and knock that one back and stun it. Unfortunately, the other two rats take a nice chunk out of my exposed side.

Damage received: 5

Damage received: 4

I slam the butt of my spear on one of the rat's heads and hockey shoot the other back.

Damage dealt: 7

Damage dealt: 4

I finish off the giant rat I hit in the noggin with a sharp [Thrust].

Damage dealt: 13

You’ve killed a Giant Rat level 4. You receive 20 XP.

Now facing the last two giant rats I see that their health bars put them at about half health each. I know I can finish them as long as they don’t have any more buddies around here.

As I point the tip of my spear at one giant rat getting ready to use [Thrust] again I hear a loud rattling sound. The two giant rats freeze and look around then back away and take off into a hole in the corridor wall. That can’t be good.

I hear the rattling sound come closer and feel the ground beneath my feet shake. Looking ahead, I see the ground bulge as if something was digging underneath and moving towards me. I point my spear at whatever is coming at me, hoping I can handle whatever scared away those giant rats. Before I can think about it any further a hole opens up in front of me and a beaked head shoots out at my body. I turn my body sideways avoiding the sharp mouth. As the rest of the creature passes by I see that the beaked head is attached to a long sinuous tube like creature with no eyes.

Well slap me silly and call me a Fremen. It’s a worm. A giant worm! While not nearly as big as the ones Frank Herbert described, this guy is as thick as a tree trunk and longer than I am tall. I expect the worm to dive back into the earth as it passes but it surprises me. Instead, it turns and crawls along the ground using the barbs it has in its flesh. Instead of trying to bite me again the worm wraps its massive body around me like a boa constrictor. Before I know it, my lower body is trapped and I fall to the ground. I sense the worm’s head coming in to make the kill and thrust the spear still in my hands into the path of the mighty beak. Almost afraid to look, I see the segmented mandibles of the worm wrapped around the shaft of my spear. It’s segmented mouth trying to bite through but unable to get the proper leverage to complete the job. While I look into the disgusting slimy mouth of the creature, three barbed tentacles emerge from the orifice and strike at my face.

Damage received: 3

Damage received: 2

Damage received: 4

The flailing tentacles sting but don’t do too much damage individually. Unfortunately, I can’t get away since my legs are trapped and my spear is the only thing holding the worms segmented beak from crushing my skull. I have to get this thing off me if I’m going to have a chance at surviving.

Taking my right hand off the spear I touch the barbed body wrapped around my legs and spell write out the single arcane symbol for ‘fire’ and don’t hold back as I pour as much mana as I can into the symbol. I feel a large draw of energy as the spell activates and heat begins to pour from the worm’s body and I hear a high pitched scream. I receive a series of damage dealt notifications that I wave away as the worm loosens its grip on my lower legs. As the worm continues to burn from the inside I wiggle free and crawl away from the creature. As I regain my feet I see its skin darken and crack from the fire. The burnt creature tries to wriggle and crawl away but I step on its tail and use [Thrust] again and again until it stops moving. When I pull my spear’s bladed head from the creature body it comes away covered in green smoking fluid. I wipe the blade on the worm’s body before it disappears in a flash of light and collapse on the ground. I feel both exhausted mentally and physically from the battle. Checking my [Status] screen I see I only have sixteen health left and that I used almost all of my stamina and mana. That must have been some [Fire] spell if it used most of my sixty-three mana points. I check the notifications I received during the fight.

Damage dealt: 15 (fire)

Damage dealt: 4 (fire)

Damage dealt: 3 (fire)

Damage dealt: 2 (fire)

Damage dealt: 3 (fire)

Damage dealt: 10

Damage dealt: 8

You’ve killed a Small Burrower level 4. You receive 25 XP.

That was a small one? I’d hate to meet a large one. Guess all that mana I poured into the [Fire] spell ended up catching it on fire from the inside. Those smaller fire damage numbers are probably from a burning effect.

I sit on my rear and look through my inventory for something to eat and drink. I need to get my mana and stamina back so I can heal myself or the next giant rat that wanders by is going to finish me off. I only find some stale bread and an old skin of water. I consume both and pull out my shield just in case something happens to want to fight while I’m resting. The water increases my rate of mana regeneration but not a lot. I really should have thought ahead and made some mana and stamina potions. I rest long enough to restore my mana and I cast [Self Heal] twice and restore all of my health. I drink my last of the water and wait for my mana to restore again. While I wait, I go over to where the body of the small burrower disappeared to see what it dropped.

Unidentified Crystal

An unknown crystal of unknown properties.

Well, that’s weird. I haven’t come across anything ‘unidentified’ before. Maybe Lilliandra can tell me something about it. I put the crystal in my inventory and continue to rest.

After my mana is full I pick up my shield and continue down the corridor until it turns a corner and it dead ends. At the end of the corridor, I see a pile of bones. This must have been the burrower’s lair. I poke through the pile of bones and find giant rat skulls and human bones mixed in with bits of fur, leather, and metal. At the bottom of the pile, I find a simple ring made of gold. It must have come off some adventurer the burrower got. When I examine it I see that arcane symbols are etched into the surface of the ring and I get a notification.

Ring of Cat’s Grace

This ring imbues the wearer with a sense of grace and fluidity. Dexterity +1.

I put the ring on my finger and feel a little less clumsy. What a lucky find. Well, not for the guy the burrower ate, but still nice.

Chapter 6.3

I walk back the way I came, shield and spear ready, but nothing attacks. Coming back to the junction of the three paths, I immediately take the right one. The only one I haven’t explored yet. Every step I take down the right passage is tense. I’m afraid that I’ll set off another trap or be attacked by some new creature. The path curves left, then right, but still, nothing attacks and no traps are set off. It’s almost anticlimactic when I come to a door and nothing has happened yet. Next to the door, embedded in the wall is a bronze plate like the one at the dungeon entrance. I place my hand on it and get a notification.

Teleportation Plate. Please select a level of the dungeon to travel to.

Level One -Entrance

Level One – End

Oh, so this is what those guys at the entrance were talking about. As I explore the dungeon I’ll probably find more of these plates and be able to teleport between them. Guess that makes sense. This way when you’ve cleared a new level of the dungeon you can teleport back to the entrance without having to walk back through all the other levels. I take my hand off the plate and the notification disappears.

I’m curious about where the door leads. Does it lead to the next level?  Is it a treasure room? Maybe it’s just the broom closet for the dungeon’s janitors. I don’t know but I want to find out.

Examining the door, it has a single round door knob. It is made of plain wood and is set in the stone wall. I don’t see anything that looks like a trap trigger, so I place my hand on the handle and turn. The door swings open silently into a dark room. Unlike the tunnels, this room has no glowing crystals providing light so my [Darkvision] ability doesn’t enhance the room to look like it's daytime. Instead, I can only see about ten feet in front of me and everything appears in shades of gray. It’s a lot like looking through night vision goggles.

Peeking through the door I can’t see all of the room but sense that it’s large. The ceiling is higher than the tunnels but the walls of the room are smooth stone. I walk into the room and as soon as I clear the entryway the door closes behind me. I turn and see that there is no handle on this side of the door. Guess this is a one-way trip. Turning away from the door I ready my shield and spear and move forward.

As I walk across the room I hear a faint grunting and the sound of something scraping the stone floor. I’m increasingly tense as I move forward. I still can’t see the thing but it can’t be any worse than that burrower. Suddenly, I hear a loud squeal and the clattering of something moving towards me. I move my shield in front of my body and pull my spear back, ready to thrust. From out of the darkness, I see a boar. Not just any old boar, though. This thing has to be the largest one on record. The top of its curvy bristly back comes up to my head and its piggy snout is waist height. It has two wicked looking curved tusks protruding from the sides of its mouth as long as some swords I’ve seen.

For a moment nothing happens and the two of us just stand there looking at each other. Then as if forced by the dungeon to act, the giant boar's eye’s glow red momentarily. Then it squeals its tusks glow and activates a [Charge] attack and hits me full force. I’m surprised by its speed and while I try to move out of the way of the charge I’m still hit by one of the tusks. I hear a cracking sound as it hits my shield and I go flying backward.

Damage received: 16

I land on my back and my breath is knocked out of me. I lay there dazed for a moment then until I hear the boar clomping towards me for another attack. Still stunned slightly I can only raise my shield as the boar swings its head down to gore me with its tusks.

Damage received: 8

I hear another cracking sound as the tusks hit and can feel the impact of the blow through the shield. This guy is strong if he can do this much damage through the shield. Before the boar can attack again I roll away from it and get to my feet. My shield in front of me, I stab with my spear using [Thrust] and score along the creature’s side.

Damage dealt: 8

The giant boar snorts when I stab him and turns to face me. He rushes forward trying to get in range to use his tusks again but I move back and to the right. I have to keep out of reach of those tusks or he’s going to skewer me. I stab again with the spear but the beast pivots out of the way. I’m able to swing the blade to the left and score a glancing blow but the boar only snorts in derision.

Damage dealt: 3

For the next few minutes, we play this game where the giant boar tries to gore me and I move back out of range. I then try to stab with my spear and he pivots out of the way and I can only get a glancing blow. While I’m hitting the hairy creature at the end of five minutes of this I’ve only done six points of damage. I try to use [Thrust] again to hit the boar but he’s too quick and moves out of the way and I waste the move. I only have enough stamina to use that ability a few more times and I need to make them count.

Instead of rushing me again, the boar backs up. Uh oh. I don’t like where this is going. I see the signature glow around the boar’s tusks appear. As it uses its [Charge] ability I side step to the right and brace my shield tight against my body. The tusked wonder slams into me and I hear a loud crack as he impacts my shield. I try to angle my shield to deflect rather than absorb the powerful attack.

Damage received: 10

While I’m pushed back by the force of the special move, I manage to stay on my feet. Unfortunately, my shield doesn’t do as well. I can see a large crack running through my shield and as I look at it a piece in the center falls out. Damnit, I just got this shield too.

I don’t have much health left and I’m feeling a bit winded. I need to make a move. The stupidest idea to beat the beast crosses my mind and I grin thinking of what Mary would say to me if she heard it. I put my plan into action by first throwing what is left of my shield at the giant boar’s head. Predictably it moves out of the way of the object hurled at its face.  While it is distracted, I sprint as quickly as I can directly at its ugly tusked head. The beast is surprised I am able to get so close. It’s even more surprised when I plant my left foot on its snout and use it as a springboard to leap onto its back. As I fly through the air grip my spear upside down in both hands and stab down with the point. I use [Thrust] for extra power and embed the tip of the spear deep into the back of the beast as I land.

Damage dealt: 16

As my spear sinks in, the giant boar squeals in anger and pain. It begins to buck and thrash in an attempt to dislodge me from its backside. All I can do is clamp down with my thighs and hold on to the spear still stuck in the creature's back. The boar tries everything it can to throw me off. It runs and suddenly stops. It jumps in the air and bucks its back. It even tries to slam me off by running towards the wall and turning at the last minute so its side smacks against it. What’s worse for me is that I can’t see where the critter is going. I’m riding it ass backward. All I can see is its tail and where we’ve been.

Soon, the hairy menace starts to slow and its efforts to dislodge me become feebler. When it finally tires enough to stop, I enact part two of my plan. As quickly as I can I spell write the [Fire] spell on the boar's back and visualize a torrent of mana flowing into the spell. I feel a great drain of energy as the spell activates.

Damage dealt: 14 (fire)

I can feel the heat under my butt as the fire bursts inside the animal. Fresh pain spurs the creature to action and it rolls in an instinctive attempt to put out the heat it feels. I feel the roll coming and abandon my place on things back. I leap off and roll to absorb the force of the fall. Coming up to my feet I see the boar trying to roll around and hear a snap as my spear, still in its back, breaks in two.

Damage dealt: 3 (fire)

I smell cooking pork as the burning effect of the spell takes hold. The boar forgets I’m here as it continues to try to put out the fire it can’t see but can feel.

Damage dealt: 2 (fire)

Smoke is pouring out of its mouth as it collapses on the ground, twitching and thrashing in its final moments.

Damage dealt: 1 (fire)

With that final bit of fire damage, it stops moving completely and I’m notified of my victory.

You've killed Boris Borsky the Giant Boar level. 5. You receive 80 XP.

With the fight over, I fall back on my butt. The adrenaline from the fight no longer propping my beaten body up. As I sit, I examine myself and see numerous cuts and bruises. My pants are burned in places and there are blisters on the backs of my legs and thighs. Guess sitting on a cooking pork chop wasn’t my best idea. I pull up my [Status] screen and see that I only survived the fight with five health points left. No wonder I feel so beaten. My mana is down to a measly three points too.

Suddenly, my eyes feel heavy. The last thought I have before I pass out from sheer exhaustion is that at least the boss on this level had a cool name.

Chapter 6.4

I open my eyes and see a gray stone ceiling. I must have passed out after the fight with...Boris the Boar? I'm not sure who's naming these bosses but they like alliteration. I sit up and check my [Status] screen. My mana, stamina, and health are all restored. That means I must have been out for at least a couple of hours.

I see a flashing letter icon in the corner of my vision. When I focus on it a message appears.

Came back from morning training with Rex and found an empty house. No message. Let us know if you are going somewhere please.--Lilliandra

Armon, we’re making dinner. Still no message. WTF?--Mary

Ack. I forgot to leave a note when I left again. I pull my message tablet from my [Inventory] and write out a note.

Went to explore the dungeon, will be home soon. Sorry, I forgot to leave a message. Didn’t mean to worry you.

I put the message tablet in my [Inventory] and stand up. Looking around the stone room I see that a staircase has appeared in the middle of the room. It probably leads to the next level of the dungeon but I don’t have time to explore right now. I head back to the door that leads to this room and see that a door handle has reappeared. When I open the door I see a group of adventurers sitting outside the door. They’re all levels four to five.

“About time!” One of the adventures yells from the floor.

“We’ve been waiting for an hour. What were you doing in there?”  The only female in the group says.

“Sorry, I fought the boss and I passed out afterward,” I tell them with a shrug.

The female in the group has bright flame red hair and carries a large metal shield and longsword. She’s covered in chainmail and is wearing a metal breastplate. Seeing that no one else comes out of the boss room behind me she looks at me in disbelief. “Wait, you fought the boss by yourself? At level three with no weapons?”

“Uh, yes and no. Yes, I’m level three. No, not weaponless. My weapon and shield broke during the fight. Not that it’s any of your business.”

The woman puts her hand on her sword, rolls her eyes and purses her lips. “Well Red Hands, you held up our group. The boss on the level won’t respawn and no one can enter the room while someone is still alive in there.”

I place my hand on the copper plate outside the boss room and bring up the teleportation menu. “Sorry, Red. I didn’t know living through a boss fight would delay you.” I say sarcastically. “Have a good boss fight and watch out for that charge ability, it hurts like hell.”

Having said that I’m teleported to the copper plate at the entrance to the dungeon. I walk out of the dungeon and see that most of the day has passed. As I walk past the guards at the entrance I hear one of them groan. I turn and see one guard pass coins to another guard with his hand out. As I walk away, the guard that got the coins puts his hand to his mouth and shouts “Thanks for living kid. You just won us all beers after our shift.” The rest of the guards laugh and I continue on my way.

I head south past Restrian and go straight home. I know I’m in for an earful for forgetting to tell everyone where I went, again. I’m just not used to having to take other people into consideration when I do things.

On the walk home, I pick some flowers for Lilliandra and Mary. I arrive home just as the sun is setting. Walking in the door of the cabin I see everyone sitting at the table eating. I feel an instant chill when Lilliandra and Mary look at me.

“Hey Rex, didn’t you say you wanted to show me something outside?” Keans says.

“Oh, yeah. Vrax, come outside with us. You’ll find it fascinating.” Rex responds.

Vrax sits and looks at the two men with a little confusion then says, “No thanks. I want to see Armon get in trouble.”

Rex and Keans stand up. Each takes one of Vrax’s arms and they all walk outside. As he leaves, I hear Keans whisper “Good luck lad.”

I gulp as I look at the ladies. They both have their arms crossed in front of their chests and are throwing daggers with their eyes.

I smile wide, take the flowers I picked out of my [Inventory] and hand them to Lilliandra and Mary. “Hey. I got these for you both.”

The two continue to stare at me coldly for a minute. Then they look at the flowers I gave them and their faces soften a little.

“I’m very sorry I didn’t leave a message before I left. I didn’t mean to be gone this long. I only meant to explore the dungeon a little and come back. However, I know that’s not an excuse for not communicating.”

Mary flies up to me with a flower in her hands, smiles, then proceeds to tell me, “You...are...a...idiot.” and hits me with the flower after each word for emphasis. Petals fly everywhere and she’s just holding a stem when she’d done talking.

I take the rebuke, shrug and give my most contrite look “Sorry. I was experimenting with magical engraving and realized how many experience points it was going to cost to level the skill. I decided to try out the dungeon near Restrian to see how much experience I could get there.”

Picking up Mary in one hand I smile and tell her, “Mary, I got sooo much experience on the first level of the dungeon. It was great. I’m halfway to level four after just one day there. Mary, we could get you to level three, no problem.”

“Not to rain on your parade but why did you not respond to the messages we sent earlier Armon?” Lilliandra asks softly.

Ouch. I was hoping no one would ask about that.

“Well, I may have passed out after a couple of difficult fights,” I admit and wince.

“Was it the giant boar or the burrower?” Lilliandra asks.

Darn, she knows about those too. She’s level seven, so she’s probably been through the dungeon already.

“Uh...both. On the plus side, I got to try out the [Fire] spell. It worked great when I poured all my mana into it. Burned them both from the inside out.” I say and grin.

I hope she doesn’t ask how close I came to dying. Please don’t ask how close I came to dying.

“So, how close did you come to dying?” Lilliandra asks.

Damn, she asked. “I came closer than I would have liked. I got to try out that [Heal self] spell a lot.”

Mary takes the stem in her hands and hits me with it again. “Stupid!”

“Look, I’m safe and sound. Yes, I had some close calls today but I made it through ok. I learned a lot about the preparations we’ll need to make to be safe in the future and what tactics we can use. It was a good experience. I don’t regret going and taking the risk. I only regret not telling you and making you worry.”

The two women are quiet for a moment. Then they look at each other and nod.

“We’re glad you’re ok,” Mary says

“Yes, please just leave a note or send a message so we know in the future, ok?” Lilliandra adds.

“Deal.” I agree.

“Can you at least tell us what you got from killing the level boss?” Lilliandra.

I go outside and see Rex and Keans throwing Vrax between them like a football. When they see me they stop and put Vrax down.

“Safe to come inside now?” Vrax asks while wobbling.

I smile at Vrax and say, “Yeah buddy it’s safe now.”

All the guys come back inside and I get a bowl of food. I sit at the table and tell everyone about my experience in the dungeon. Vrax and Mary were very interested to hear about the monsters we’d be facing. Vrax says he would have snuck up on the burrower and stabbed it. Keans points out that burrowers can sense vibrations through the ground so there’s no way to sneak up on them. Rex is surprised I took as many hits from the giant boar as I did with the shield. He recommends I just move out of the way of the charge next time. Keans offers to help train my dodge skills by shooting arrows at me.

When Mary asks what I got for killing the giant boar, I realize I that I was in such a rush to get back that I never checked to see what it dropped. When I tell everyone I forgot to check what Boris the Boar dropped, they laugh. Mary’s laughing so hard she has tears in her eyes. I think she feels vindicated for me making her worry.

I thank everyone for the advice and head to bed after I finish eating. Vrax and Mary join me.

“I missed not having the two of you with me today. After every obstacle I survived, I thought about how we could have helped each other or how it would have been easier with you both there.”

Mary lounges on the pillow bed and says, “Hmmph. Of course, you need me around to save you. What did you expect?”

Vrax agrees and says, “Yes. You need your brood brother to watch your back. I’ll come next time.”

I nod at both of them. I check my [Status] screen before bed and see that I need less than a hundred experience points to get to level 4. I go to sleep looking forward to facing the dungeon again soon.

Chapter 6.5

From my experience in the dungeon, I realize that preparation can mean the difference between beating the dungeon boss and becoming his next meal. The next morning I lay out my plan to prepare my group to enter the dungeon. Everyone in the group needs to be able to heal, either by spell or potion. That way if one of us passes out, one of the others can still heal them. Since both Mary and I are spell casters, we’ll also need lots of mana potions. I also need a new weapon since mine was destroyed by Boris the Boar. We also need to practice how we’ll handle the monsters on the first level of the dungeon. I figure it’ll take three to four days of preparation.

I use my message tablet to contact Dyblex. I explain that I broke my shield and spear. I also tell her I don’t have enough money to buy both a new shield and spear. I ask her to make me a new spear and wonder if she can have it ready in a couple days since I plan on returning to the dungeon soon. She’s annoyed I keep breaking her products but promises me something new will be ready in three days.

The first day of preparation I dedicate the day to practicing [Magical Engraving]. I experiment to see what variables affect the spells engraved. I learned that sloppy or imprecise engraving won’t hold a spell at all. Additionally, if the engraved spell’s symbols are damaged the spell no longer works. Also, the size of the symbol engraved determines the amount of mana it can hold. Finally, the amount of mana I pour into the initial engraving, to set the spell, determines the spell costs when someone else uses that engraved spell.

For example, when I set the arcane symbol for ‘heal’ into a wooden charm there is a base cost of thirty experience points and thirty mana. The mana regenerates. The experience points do not. That basic charms will now cast the [Heal] spell for fifteen mana and heal someone for seven health points. If I double the amount of mana I pour into the initial setting of the spell, that charm will now heal for ten health but cost the user thirty mana. Additionally, the charm cost me double the experience points to create.

So it’s pretty evident that the double mana charm is definitely not worth making right now. Maybe it will be worth it to make the double mana charms when I increase my rank in [Magical Engraving] and I get different bonuses to the skill.

All my experimenting costs me one hundred and ninety experience points. Eating up most of the XP that I earned in the dungeon yesterday. Oh, well. Easy come, easy go. At least my [Magical Engraving] skill increases to Novice 4 and my spell writing skills go up to Novice 5. I also have a heal charm to give to Vrax so he can do some healing if he needs to. He doesn’t have a lot of mana so he can only use the charm a couple times but that may mean the difference between living and dying. I give him the heal charm that night at dinner and he’s super excited to get the gift. Mary looks disappointed I don’t have anything for her. I explain the only engraving I can currently make in her size was a heal charm that only healed one point of health. I promise to make her something more useful in the future.

The next day Vrax, Mary and I spend the morning gathering all the potion herbs we can find in the forest. I show them what to look for and they both gain the [Herbalism] skill.  By lunch time we’ve gathered all the potion herbs in a one-mile radius around the cabin.  We separate the herbs we’ve gathered and find we have one hundred red herbs, seventy-five blue herbs, seventy yellow herbs, and thirty green herbs. It roughly takes five herb leaves to make a single potion. I calculate that I can make twenty health potions, fifteen mana potions, fourteen stamina potions, and six poison potions. I only have twelve potion vials so that’s a lot more potion than I can store right now.

After lunch, Mary and Vrax go off to train with Rex and Keans. I decide to head into town to make the potions in Allison’s alchemy shop. That way I can use her equipment for distillation and make the potions stronger. The trip doesn’t take that long and I don’t encounter any problems entering like last time. I head straight to Allison’s shop and as I enter I smell a sweet aroma that tickles my nose. As usual, Allison is in the back of the shop stirring a pot of some potion. I take a moment to appreciate the curvy view and call out to her in greeting. She turns and smiles when she sees me.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite novice alchemist. Come on back.” She tells me.

I go through the door that separates the front half of the shop from the back half and walk to Allison who is still stirring the potion.

I take a peek at the pot she’s stirring and see that she is stirring a thick pink liquid with flecks of gold. “What are you making today?” I inquire.

“Oh, just a special order of sleeping potions. Not too many people use them in this village but a healer in Barlon wants some.” She answers.

Sleeping potions? I wonder if I could figure out some way to make those potions into a sleeping gas. Then all I’d have to do is throw them, put my enemies to sleep and finish them off. Maybe if I add a steam enchantment to the container that activates when it’s broken. Or maybe a fire enchantment. Or maybe…

Allison coughs slightly then says, “So, what can I do for you today?”

“Sorry, my mind tends to wander when I get a new idea.  I’m here to use your alchemy equipment. I have some potions I want to make and distill.”

Allison’s lips curve in an impish smile and she says, “Oh, just here to use me for my equipment huh? You could at least buy me dinner first.”

I blush and stammer, “Well...uh...if…you...dinner...nice...”

Allison laughs at my eloquence. “I’m just teasing you. Feel free to use the alchemy equipment over there on the bench. The rental fee is twenty coppers an hour or fifty coppers for the day. If you break anything you have to pay to replace it.”

I thank her and move over to the bench set against a wall of the shop. On the bench are all the tools of an alchemist. There are a mortar and pestle for grinding herbs. Pots of various sizes. A small wood burning stove with a smoke stack leading up to the roof. There’s also all the distillation equipment. A series of glass containers and tubes that funnel a more concentrated potion by using evaporation.

I get started by putting a few logs into the wood burning stove. I spell write the arcane symbol for [Fire] over the wood and pour a small amount of mana into it to get the fire going. I then fill one of the medium sized pots with water from a barrel on the other side of the room and place the pot onto the stove. While the water heats up I sit on a stool at the bench and use the mortar and pestle to grind up all the potion herbs we collected. I use some containers Allison has on a shelf to separate the ground up potion ingredients. Once the water is boiling I pour about one fourth of the ground red rubrum leaves into the pot. I stir the mixture for a few minutes until it turns a shade of pink. I know the healing potions are supposed to be red, so I pour in another quarter of the ground rubrum leaves. After stirring the mixture for another few minutes it turns a shade of red and I get a notification.

You’ve created a medium batch of Novice Healing potion.

I take the boiling concoction off the stove and place it on the bench. I pour a small amount into a cup and examine it.

Novice Health Potion

The most basic of potions. Will heal you when consumed for 5 health over 1 minute.

Not bad for a first attempt. The pot has enough potion to fill most of the vials I have but I think I can increase the strength of the potion if I distil it.  I move the pot of healing potion over to the distillation equipment and pour out about half of the red liquid into the distillation system. I start a fire under the distillation container to start the process. It takes a few minutes until the red potion begins to separate into a translucent vaguely pink liquid and a small amount of a darker red one.

You’ve created Novice Health Potion, distilled.

You’ve gained a level in [Alchemy]. Novice 2.

When I examine the dark red liquid I get another notification.

Novice Health Potion, distilled

This potion was created by an alchemist using an advanced alchemy technique to increase its potency. It will restore 7 health over 1 minute.

That’s a little better. I used half the healing herbs I had, that’ll make ten health potions. I used half of that in distillation and have enough distilled potion to fill a little over one vial. That means if I repeat the process for using all the healing herbs I have left I can make a total of four distilled health potions or a total of fifteen normal health potions and one distilled one. I decide to go for the distilled ones since it seems to raise my [Alchemy] skill faster than normal potion making. Our group doesn’t really need many health potions since I can heal using spell writing. After another hour of work, I end up with two more distilled health potions. I ruined one batch. I also distill the stamina and poison potions but make normal mana potions since I figure we’ll be using those the most. I examine my work and am rather pleased.

Novice Stamina Potion, distilled (3 units)

This potion was created by an alchemist using an advanced alchemy technique to increase its potency. It will restore 15 stamina over 1 minute.

Novice Poison Potion, distilled (1 unit)

This potion was created by an alchemist using an advanced alchemy technique to increase its potency. It will cause 7 damage over 1 minute. May be applied to weapons or ingested.

Novice Mana Potion  (15 units)

The most basic of potions. Will restore magical energy when consumed for 5 mana over 1 minute.

I end up buying some more potion vials from Allison for thirty-five copper. Since it took me all afternoon and some of the evening to finish the work I pay Allison the daily equipment rental fee of fifty copper. All total I spend eighty-five copper today leaving me with two silver and sixty-six copper to my name. However, it would have cost me twice as much if I would have bought the potions already made. Plus all the work today gathering herbs and making potions raised my [Alchemy] skill up to Novice 5 and [Herbalism] to Novice 7. I thank Allison for letting me use her alchemy equipment and head back home.

Even though it’s getting dark, I don’t have any problem making my way home to the cabin thanks to my [Darkvision] ability. When I walk into the cabin everyone is already eating roasted rabbit and some mashed root vegetable. My stomach growls as I get myself a helping of food. I tell everyone about my day making potions. Mary and Vrax tell me that they caught all the rabbits that we’re eating for dinner. Rex tells me that Mary is apparently becoming a pretty good magical sniper since she can just fly above most creatures and rain magic missiles on them. Keans brags that Vrax is a natural hunter with his high [Sneak] skill and since he is the one that found all the rabbits he’s been improving his [Tracking] skill too.

After finishing dinner everyone heads to bed. Before I go to sleep I consider that my group is almost ready to head into the dungeon together. I just need to pick up my weapon.

Chapter 6.6

Mary, Vrax, and I wake up early in the morning and head into the village to pick up my weapon from Dyblex. Passing through the gate to Restrian we see that same rude guard. He gives the three of us dirty looks but he doesn’t stop us this time. We travel across the village to Dyblex’s shop only pausing once when a young adventurer asked for directions to the bookstore.

The three of us walk into Dyblex’s shop and receive the traditional screeching greeting over the speaking tubes. When she hears it’s me visiting, she runs out from the backroom and up the step stool to the customer counter. She gives me her best sharp-toothed smile until she sees Mary. Then she puts her hand on her on her hip and tilts her head to the side.

“And who is this? I thought we’d settled what would happen if you brought some other woman around?” She tells me with a withering look in her eyes. I notice her hand move under the counter.

Before I can answer two purple bolts of energy fly past Dyblex’s face. Dyblex’s eyes go wide at the near hit. I look for the sources of the arcane energy and see Mary blowing purple smoke away from her index finger.

“My name is Mary. I’m the most root’n toot’n fairy you’ll ever meet. If you’re looking for trouble you’ve found it. But I’m telling you straight goblin, me and Armon aren’t together. We’re just friends.”

I look at Mary strangely for a moment. How many westerns did she watch while researching my world? Turning to a still stunned Dyblex I add, “That’s right. Mary and I are just old friends.”

Dyblex takes her hand out from under the counter and gives Mary a contemptuous sniff before turning her gaze and sharp smile to me.

“Well, lover boy. Have you finally come to take advantage of my special offer to you?” She says while leering at me.

Mary flies near my ear and mumbles, “Desperate much?”

I cough into my hand to cover my snort at Mary’s comment. “No thank you Dyblex. Thank you for the flattering offer through. We’re heading into the dungeon today and I’m just here to pick up the spear I ordered from you.”

“Oh, decided to give the dungeon a try? I approve. I want my man to be nice and strong. Makes chasing you down more fun.” Dyblex responds with a wink.

I can’t help but blush at the idea of any woman, goblin or not, chasing me down. “Thanks for the encouragement. I’ll be sure to work on my sprinting skills too.”

Mary giggles at the idea of me practicing sprinting to get away from Dyblex. Dyblex only smiles wider at the idea. I think she’s excited by the challenge.

Vrax looks up at me confused. “Humans very strange. In our tribe, if you want to mate, you not run away from the female. You run to her. I think you confused.”

Mary laughs even harder. Seeing the conversation heading in a direction I’d rather it not go I steer things back to the spear.

“So, Dyblex is my new spear all ready?” I ask.

Talking about business Dyblex stops smiling and becomes more serious. Guess goblins love money more than men.

“Yes, yes. I have a new spear for you.” She tells me. Dyblex hops off the stool and walks into the backroom. She returns carrying a long spear with a thick shaft that is bound with metal rings. The spear tip is much longer than before and is shaped like a leaf with a broad curved bottom that comes to a pointed tip. Putting it on the customer counter she pulls up the item information and shows it to me.

Reinforced Spear

This experimental spear is reinforced for added durability. The long-leafed spear tip adds extra damage to slashing attacks. The base of the spear has also been capped with metal to allow the user to bash an opponent with it.

Damage: 6-8 (slashing/piercing), 4-5 (blunt)

Durability: 25/25

Cost: 3 Silver

Oh, that’s a nice spear. It does a little more damage than the interchangeable spear and has almost twice the durability. It costs three silver, though.

“This is a great spear Dyblex. I’m surprised you could make something like this in only a few days. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough money to buy it.”

“Hmmm...perhaps we could trade to cover the balance?” Dyblex gets a glint in her eye and continues, “Or maybe I could lend you the rest.”

Mary whispers loudly in my ear, “Trade, trade!”

Remembering the last time I borrowed money from her, I quickly pull up my [Inventory] and search through the items I have.

Rat teeth (3)

Unidentified Crystal

Novice Health Potions, Distilled (1 units)

Novice Stamina potion, distilled. (3 units)

Novice Poison potion, distilled. (1 unit)

Novice Mana Potion (7 units)

Light Charm

Light Charm- Double mana

Heal Charm-small

Force Charm

“I have rat teeth, some spell engraved charms, and an unidentified crystal to trade,” I tell Dyblex.

“Did you make the engraved charms?” She asks.

I nod, pull the charms out of my inventory, and lay them on the counter. Dyblex doesn’t ask me to pull up the information on the items, instead, she holds each one up and looks at some screen only she can see.

“The light charm is good. Provides a decent amount of light at a reasonable mana cost. The heal charm is of no use to anyone. This force charm is interesting. It says it does two points of force damage at a cost of five mana. How does it work?” Dyblex inquires.

“Oh, that was an experiment for me. I was hoping to create a force field. When I activated it, it sent a wave of energy that felt like getting punched, though. I found that the wave of force emanates from the spell engraving. So if you face the engraving away from you while you activate it, you can aim the damage to some degree.” I answer.

Hearing my answer Dyblex taps her chin and excitedly says, “That is a very interesting effect. Hmmm, maybe I can make some gloves that will add force damage to a punch. Or maybe a hammer. The possibilities.”

“I’d never thought to use the charm that way. I guess I could also engrave the arcane symbol for force on a gauntlet. Though you’d have to be able to send your mana to the spell and attack at the same time.” I add.

Mary coughs and points to her wrist. Oh, yeah. We have to get to the dungeon. Time to make a sale and get my spear.

I place all the rat teeth, and the unidentified crystal beside the charms. “Well, how much would you give me for everything?”

Dyblex examines the rat teeth for only an instant before sniffing. Her eyes linger on the crystal, however. She holds the crystal between her index finger and thumb and angles it up to the light. I think she actives whatever skill she has because her eyes pop open and she looks at me strangely.

“Do you know what this is?” She asks, pointing to the crystal.

“No, it’s unidentified to me. Do you know what it is?”

“I have the skill [Appraise]. It allows me to not only identify objects but gives me a rough estimate of their value. This is an uncharged mana crystal.”

“A mana crystal?” Mary interjects. “They’re used by mages to restore mana instantly. Potions restore mana and health over the course of a minute or so. Crystals restore mana instantly. They’re found in underground crystal mines and depending on their quality, can be very valuable.”

Dyblex glares at Mary. Maybe she was hoping to buy the crystal cheaply. “Yes, they can be very expensive to buy fully charged. However, this is of poor quality and is unfilled.”

Mary crosses her arms and glares back at Dyblex. “Even if it is poor quality it wouldn’t be cheap to buy and Armon knows [Aura Projection] so he could fill it up with mana no problem.”

Dyblex continues to glare at Mary for a minute then purses her lips. “Fine. If he charges the mana crystal, I’ll buy it and everything else for...seventy copper.”

That’s great. That’ll cover the cost of the rest of the spear and I’d have a little left over. Before I can accept the offer Mary interrupts.

“Seventy copper? That’s highway robbery. The mana crystal can go for a silver by itself. The engraved light charms are at least worth thirty copper a piece. Adventurers wouldn't have to use a lamp with them. The rat teeth are worth...umm..well, the light charms are worth thirty.”

Dyblex slams one hand down on the counter. “I have to sell that crystal for a silver, I can’t buy it at that price. Those light charms are the work of an amateur. They’ll probably break after a couple uses. How can you expect me to pay thirty copper for that?” Dyblex counters.

I start to protest at the assertion my light charms are cheap but both women give me such a scathing look for interrupting them, the words die on my lips.

The two ladies continue to barter while Vrax and I go sit in the corner. After a few more minutes, Mary and Dyblex come to an understanding and shake hands. Mary waves me back to the counter.

“We’ve come to an understanding. Dyblex will pay you one silver twenty copper for everything and you’ll charge the mana crystal.” Mary informs me. Dyblex nods in agreement.

I take the mana crystal into my hands and pour my mana into it as if it was a spell. The crystal absorbs every drop of my mana like a sponge. I start to feel a little light headache coming on when I get a notification and my mana stops flowing into the crystal.

Mana Crystal- poor Quality

Filled with magical life energy, this crystal can restore up to 50 mana. The user may choose to restore part of or all of the maximum amount of mana. Once the crystal is fully drained of mana it will shatter and break.

I hand the crystal back to Dyblex. “Is that the same type of crystal you were working with when we first met?”

“It’s the same type of crystal but of much lesser quality. Here is your money.” Dyblex answers. She puts all the items on the counter onto a back shelf and counts out one silver and fifty copper and leaves it on the counter.

I take another silver and fifty copper out of my inventory and put it on the counter too. Dyblex takes the money and hands me my new spear.

We bid Dyblex farewell and exit the shop. I gaze at my new spear and caress it. It’s so good to have a weapon in my hands again.

“That thick shaft feel good in your hands?” Mary, asks with a giggle.

I roll my eyes and stop caressing my new spear. The three of us head back home for lunch then practice as a group in mock battles against giant rats, burrowers, and the giant boar. By the time we’re done practicing we’re all rather sweaty and we make a trip to the nearby stream to get cleaned up. On the way back to the cabin Vrax catches a rabbit and we use it to make dinner. It feels so nice to be clean and fed that I fall asleep as soon as I hit my bed.

Interlude 3

A fat, balding man wearing a military uniform sits in a cluttered office behind a heavy wooden desk. In his hands is a paper he’s tried to read through for the last five minutes. He sighs, puts down the report and looks about the room. Piles of books and officially sealed papers are everywhere.

In his mind, the man reminisces, “All I seem to do these days is file reports and approve requests. I used to be a mighty warrior in the Xican army. I’ve fought trolls, slavers, bandits, and orcs. Yet instead of a place on the field of battle I’m here in this office, pushing papers.”

He absently rubs his legs where a criss cross of deep scars rub along his pants and in a sudden bout of anger he pushes a pile of papers off his desk. A deep frown crosses his face as he remembers why he’s not in the field anymore.

Continuing with his inner thoughts, “If I hadn’t been injured in a border skirmish with those damn monsters, I’d be a general by now. I was wounded in battle. Sure I was running away from the battle when that goblin sneak cut me down but you’d think the government would treat me better than sticking me in this office. I deserve better.

At least that’s what the man in the bar said. It was only a few months ago that he found me. Official looking man in some fancy clothes bought me a couple drinks when I was feeling frustrated about my posting again. He was a good listener. He listened to all my problems and agreed that I deserved better. That a brave man like me should be treated better. He said I should have nice things and live in a big house instead of the tiny room I rent. That men like me should and could do better for ourselves. He said he was someone who could appreciate my talents and access to information as an ‘data processing officer’ in the Xican government. He said he’d pay me for any bits of information I came across in my work and that if I found something he was particularly interested in that he’d make sure I was handsomely rewarded.”

The fat man sits back in his chair, causing it to creak, and smiles as he remembers that fateful encounter.

“I was pretty drunk by then and hadn’t remembered telling him that I worked in that department, but I must have. Ever since then, I’ve been selling little bits of information to the fancy man, Mr.Raslinton. Nothing important, but things like reports of grain shortages in the east or locations of new dungeons that have been found in the last few years. It’s put a few new coins in my pocket.

Yet, this latest request from Mr. Raslinton was different. Said he’d pay gold for any information about people acting weird. People that seemed like they didn’t belong and made odd things happen.”

Shrugging at the last request made by his fancy new friend the bald man bends down to pick up the pile of papers he knocked over. He stops though when he sees a report from a town guard in Restrian named John Dingleton. He says some kobolds have been causing trouble for the town. Stealing from farmers and bothering honest tradesmen. He’s also sent in repeated complaints about ‘how these monsters shouldn’t be allowed into his village’. I ignore those reports. Not that I disagree. These non-humans should know their place after all.

What really catches my attention is that he also mentions a kobold was being led by a strange human that seems to prefer the company of monsters to good honest people. A human that showed up from nowhere and is only level two. Yet he fights in the dungeon alone and is even rumored to have killed a troll.

Mr. Raslinton said he’d pay for this kind of information. Maybe he’ll give me enough gold to buy that black stallion I’ve always wanted.

The overweight man leaves the rest of the papers on the floor as he gets up and leaves his small office.

It’s almost five o'clock anyways. I could use a drink and Mr. Raslinton always has a man at the bar to take any new information I have to sell.

Chapter 7.1

Today is the day. Mary and Vrax are as excited as I am to head into the first level of the dungeon and earn some experience points. I’ve distributed the potions I made to the group. I gave Vrax two of the health potions and Mary eight of the mana potions. That leaves me the other seven mana potions and three stamina potions.

We head out early so that we’ll have plenty of time in the dungeon today. We make sure to take enough food for breakfast and lunch. We pass right past Restrian and head straight to the dungeon.

We’re there early enough that there is just one other group heading into the dungeon before us. It’s a group of three adventurers. Two of them are wearing cloth robes and carrying staffs. The third person is a woman and is wearing chainmail, carries a large shield and has very familiar red hair.

It’s the redhead I met last time I was in the dungeon. She’s facing away from me and I walk up to her intending to say hello. I overhear a little of what she’s telling her teammates, “Listen, you wussy mages. Just throw all the spells you can at the boar and you’ll be fine. I’ll be there to take his attention…”

Red seems pretty intense. I change my mind and turn around to head back to Vrax and Mary. Then I hear her say, “Well, if it isn't Red Hands.”

I turn back and put on my friendliest smile, “Hey, long time no see. Good to see you’re still alive.”

The red haired warrior faces me with her left hand on the handle of the sword on her hip and her shield in her right arm facing me. She looks like she’s ready to fight me. “Yeah, yeah. Nice to see you too.” She’s not yelling at me like she was the last time and even has a small smile on her face. It’s actually a little scary. Like she’s going to stab me and like it.  She pauses for a moment then adds, “Well I just wanted to thank you for your advice.”

I look at her questioningly, Advice? What advice?

She quickly continues, “You told my last group to watch out for the giant boar's charge attack, remember? Well, one of the guys in the group didn’t listen to you and tried to rush the boar as soon as we entered. He took the first charge attack and was knocked out of the fight right away. Thankfully, the rest of us listened and were ready for the boar.”

She pulls a something out of her inventory and hands it to me. I look down at my hand and see it’s a silver coin.

“What’s this for?” I ask.

“The guy who got knocked out of the boss fight also took the treasure left next to your broken spear. I saw you left in a hurry and figured you forgot it. I couldn’t make him give it back so I figured I’d give you some money as compensation. Plus I feel like I owe you a little. Anyways, now we’re even.”

Having said what she wanted to, she turns and walks back to her group and they all head towards the dungeon entrance.

I stand there confused. The last time I saw this girl she was yelling at me and now she’s thanking me and even gave me money. As I see her walking away I realize I don’t even know her name.

I call after her, “What’s your name?”

“Sonya.” She yells back without turning around and disappears into the dungeon.

Well, that was interesting. I walk back to Vrax and Mary.

“What was that all about?” Mary asks.

“Just said hello to someone I met the last time I came to the dungeon,” I tell her.

“She looks like a strong warrior. She going to join our group too?” Vrax asks.

“No!” I respond automatically. God. I can only imagine if Sonya joined us. She’d be yelling and screaming at us the entire time.

I shiver and lead the group to the dungeon entrance. We walk past the guards and the one that won the bet last time gives me a thumbs up as we pass.

I tell Vrax about the teleportation plates but we decide to go through the dungeon the long way. We need the experience points.

Mary asks if I’m going to form a party with them. When I ask what she means, she explains that I can look at someone else and think [Invite to Group]. If the other person accepts, I have access to a new menu called [Group] where I can see everyone’s status screens and see everyone’s health bars in the group without having to focus on them. Grouping this way also splits all experience points evenly between everyone in the group.

I invite Vrax and Mary to group and they both accept. I immediately see red bars pop up above their heads. That will be useful. I can see if someone needs to be healed by looking at the red bar that represents their health.

As we walk down the first dungeon corridor, we decide our roles for the upcoming fights. Since Vrax has the highest sneak skill, he’ll take the role of scout for the team. He’ll also try to position himself to use his [Backstab] ability if we get into any fights. Mary is our primary spell caster and I’ll be the group’s primary fighter and healer. Vrax also has a heal charm he or Mary can use if I’m not available to heal them.

Our roles firmly established we move into the dungeon, weapons ready.

Chapter 7.2

Walking down the tunnel to the first junction that splits left and right. I remind everyone that I only went down the left path last time. We know that the boss room is down that path but I suggest that we go right and see what we find. Neither Vrax nor Mary disagrees.

We move down the right path. We spot our first prey within minutes. Well, Vrax and I do. Mary doesn’t have [Darkvision] so she can only see about ten feet ahead of us by the glow from the crystals in the tunnels. Vrax uses [Sneak] and Mary flies as high as the ceiling in the tunnel allows. I run ahead and grab the attention of the rodent by stabbing at it with my spear. I don’t hit it but I definitely get its attention.

Vrax suddenly appears behind the giant rat and stabs it with his knife twice. The creature is hurt but not finished. A flash explodes above me and I see three magical purple bolts of energy hit the rat and it falls to the ground dead.

Vrax deals damage: 8 (backstab)

Vrax deals damage: 4

Mary deals damage: 1 (force damage)

Mary deals damage: 3 (force damage)

Mary deals damage: 3 (force damage)

You've helped kill a Giant Rat level. 4. You receive 7 XP.

Woah. That was amazing. Three seconds and the giant rat is dead. Even though I’m only getting a third of the XP, this is so much easier.

“Good job team. That was great.” I tell Mary and Vrax.

“Giant rats are easy to kill,” Vrax says.

“Yeah, this isn’t as hard as you made it sound. As a matter of fact, I think Team Mary could handle a lot more.” The cute fairy adds.

“Wait, Team Mary? Who’s that?” I ask.

“Every great group has a team name. Ours is Team Mary.”

“Woah, when did we decide that?”

Flying around in a circle, Mary flips her hair over her shoulder and answers, “Obviously, the team should be named after the prettiest, most awesome member of the group.”

“Then we should be called team Vrax.” My kobold friend pipes in with a laugh.

Everyone’s a comedian on this team. “Team Mary, Team Vrax? We might as well call ourselves Team Rocket. We can protect the world from devastation.”

Without missing a beat Mary adds with a laugh, “Do we also want to unite all peoples within our nation or denounce the evils of truth and love and extend our reach to the stars above?”

Vrax looks at us both oddly, “What’s a rocket?”

I laugh, “Don’t worry about it, buddy. We’ll figure out a team name later. Let’s get going, you want to move ahead and scout out the path ahead?”

Vrax nods and jogs ahead a little then uses [Sneak] to disappear from sight. Mary and I walk down the tunnel, ready for any surprises. After about ten minutes of walking, Vrax returns and tells us there is a nest two hundred feet ahead. He couldn’t see them all but counted at least six giant rats.

The three of us brainstorm on different tactics we could use to handle that many enemies but the fact is that six is too many for us to handle all at once. I only have thirty-nine hit points. If the rats swarm me, I’ll be dead in moments. Looking around I see rocks scattered around. Well, if we can’t handle all those rats at once we’ll make sure they line up for us one at a time.

I tell Mary to look up and down this tunnel for the narrowest point she can find. Vrax and I gather as many rocks as we can. I muscle a few of the largest rocks into a pile. Mary returns, having found an area about forty feet ahead that is only six paces across. Everyone helps move our pile of rocks to the spot Mary found.

Using the largest rocks as a base we pile rocks up until we create a makeshift wall that is only a little shorter than Vrax with a gap in the middle large enough for a single giant rat to crawl through. The wall is full of loose rocks and pebbles. I give it a tap with my spear and five or six rocks fall down. Not strong enough.

Inspired by my experiments with arcane experiments, I spell write the symbols for ‘water’ and ‘earth’ on a portion of the loose rock wall. I direct my mana flow to the arcane symbols and mud starts to gather in the spaces between rocks. I repeat the [Mud] spell several more times until all the spaces in the rock wall are filled with mud. Next, I spell write the [Fire] spell but unlike when I’ve used it in a fight, I pour as little mana as possible into the spell. The spell gets just hot enough to bake the mud and strengthen the wall. By the time I finish enhancing the wall I’m out of mana but when I give it a good kick nothing falls off. The wall isn’t going to stop a troll but it will definitely stop a swarm of giant rats.

“Ok guys. Here’s the game plan. Mary, I want you to fly ahead and hit one of the giant rats with a magic missile and then fly back here as quickly as you can. That should bring them running after you. Vrax and I will be waiting here. The wall should funnel the rodents to the gap and we should only have to fight one at a time. I’ll stab the first one that reaches the gap and hold it while Vrax and you finish it off. Anyone have any questions?”

Neither Mary nor Vrax have any questions. I give Mary the thumbs up sign and she flies off down the tunnel. Vrax and I face the gap in the wall we’ve made waiting for Mary to return. We don’t have to wait long.

After only a few minutes we hear Mary yelling “INNCOMMINNGG!”

Boy is she right. It looks like there are more than six giant rats following her. Guess this wall is going to get a crash test.

The swarm of giant rats head right into our reinforced wall as Mary flies past us. The wall shakes as the rats slam into it, but it holds. I can only see one gigantic rodent through the gap we left. As it wiggles its way through I activate my [Thrust] ability and slam my spear into the rat’s chest.

Damage dealt: 13

Instead of pulling my spear out, I use it to hold the rat back. It scratches and bites the spear embedded in its chest but can’t dislodge it. Vrax uses the opportunity to stab the creature with his stone knife again.

Vrax deals damage: 4

You've helped kill a Giant Rat level. 4. You receive 7 XP.

So far so good. “Mary, save your mana in case we get in trouble.”

Vrax and I are able to repeat our plan and kill another two giant rats without any problems. After I stab the fourth giant rat with [Thrust] things change.  I start to feel tired and know that signals I’m running out of stamina. I also hear a scrabbling sound and when I look up from the rat I’m holding back, I see that another one has climbed over our rock wall. I can’t do anything besides take the hit since I have to plug the gap in our wall with the giant rat I’ve impaled. The giant rat that climbed over the wall leaps at me and bites my arm.

Damage taken: 7

Damage taken: 1 (bleeding)

Damage taken: 1 (bleeding)

Damage taken: 1 (bleeding)

Damn that hurts. Still, I hold onto my spear as Vrax finishes off the giant rat I have impaled.

“Mary, help Vrax kill the one that climbed over the wall and I’ll hold off the next one in the gap.”

Vrax stabs the disgusting rodent that’s clinging to my arm with its teeth and it lets go.

Vrax deals damage: 8 (backstab)

As it hits the ground it turns and faces off against Vrax. The giant rat is nearly as tall as Vrax is but he doesn’t seem worried.

“You no attack my brood brother.” He hisses at the rat.

While the climber faces Vrax, Mary lets loose magic missile after magic missile in a fury of power.

Mary deals damage: 2 (force damage)

Mary deals damage: 5 (force damage)

Mary deals damage: 1 (force damage)

Mary deals damage: 1 (force damage)

Mary deals damage: 2 (force damage)

Mary deals damage: 3 (force damage)

The giant climber squeals in pain as Mary’s arcane assault hit it. It turns to attack the source of its pain but the moment it does Vrax snakes in and backstabs it, killing it.

Vrax deals damage: 10 (backstab)

You've helped kill a Giant Rat level. 4. You receive 7 XP.

The climbing giant rat now taken care of Vrax quickly returns to helping me kill the next one I have impaled in the wall gap.

You've helped kill a Giant Rat level. 4. You receive 7 XP.

We’re able to handle the rest of the swarm of giant rats but the sheer number of them makes it a hard fight. Anytime one of them is able to climb our wall Mary hits it with magic missiles until Vrax can help her kill it. Mary runs out of mana when two giant rats climb over the wall at the same time. However, she distracts one by flying just out of reach of its snapping rat teeth, while Vrax kills the other by himself. He takes a few hits but deals with it quickly enough to help Mary kill the other one. I stab and pin every other ugly rat-faced snout that comes through the gap in our wall and Vrax kills it with his knife.

By the time we finish off the last of the swarm, everyone is exhausted. Mary is out of mana. I’m almost out of mana and stamina. Only Vrax seems to have any energy left. All told we killed twelve giant rats. Double what Vrax thought was in that nest.

Chapter 7.3

Vrax restores his health using his heal charm and is out of mana like the rest of us. I pass out some of Lilliandra’s mana restoration tea to everyone which increases mana regeneration by 20%. We all rest until our mana and stamina are full. Then I spell write [Self Heal] and restore my health. While I rest a few more minutes to restore the mana I used, Vrax goes and checks all drops from the giant rats we killed. By the time he’s returned my mana is full. Vrax gives me eight sets of rat teeth and I put them in my inventory.

I check the notifications from the fight and when I add everything up we each earned eighty-four experience points. Not bad.

Now, that everyone is up to full strength we move down the tunnel. It’s a straight path to the area Vrax first saw the giant rat’s nest. Nothing else attacks us and when we arrive at the end of the tunnel there is a massive amount of shredded cloth and leather piled into there. This must have been the place the giant rats on this level gathered and rested. No wonder there were so many here. Poking through the piles of debris I don’t find anything except a few bone fragments. Mary finds ten copper pieces and Vrax finds the gnawed on remains of a bow.

We don’t find anything else and we go back the way we came until we come back to the first junction. Moving forward leads us into the area I first explored by myself. Since I know the way to the path to the boss's room we don’t waste time getting lost. We kill three more giant rats before we reach the split in the tunnel that divides the path into three choices. I know the path on the left leads to the burrower. The path in the middle is full of traps. The path on the right leads right to the boss room and the stairs down to the next level.

When I ask Vrax and Mary if they want to head straight to the boss room they both say no. They both want to fight the burrower. Mary says she thinks that the mana crystal may not be a random drop but may be something the burrower picks up because it travels through the earth. Vrax just wants to fight something new. I don’t have any objections so we take the left path.

There are no giant rats for us to fight this time. Maybe we killed most of them at their nest?

Regardless, the three of us soon reach the end of the left tunnel. It seems like the respawned burrower snacked on a few adventurers. There is a broken staff in the corner I don’t remember seeing before. Before we can investigate any further I feel a familiar rumbling beneath my feet.

“Here it comes. Everyone look at the ground for where the burrower is going to come from. If you see it shout out to the group.” I yell.

I look around at the ground but don’t see any holes where the burrower might pop up from. Vrax and Mary are searching too but don’t see anything either. While I’m looking down searching for where the burrower might appear I feel a rock hit the back of my head. I look up and see a hole in the ceiling right above me and a beaked mouth of the burrower falling straight at me. I instinctively duck as the whole long heavy worm-like body falls on me. I try to grapple with it but it’s too heavy to push off and it pins me to the ground. I feel pain as the beak of the worm digs into my shoulder and its tentacles stab me as the rest of the body tries to wrap around me.

Damage received: 10

Damage received: 3

Damage received: 1

Damage received: 2

My spear was knocked out of my hands as I fell but I’m able to grab the area around the burrower’s beak and push it away from me with both hands. I can see into its slimy disgusting mouth as its beak tries to snap at me and feel its body wiggle and squirm on top of me.

Thankfully, I’m not alone this time or I might not have made it. If I glance down I can see Vrax stabbing the body of the burrower furiously. Since I’m grappling with its head, the burrower can only ineffectively snap its tail at Vrax. Mary is still airborne and flings magic missile after magic missile at the creature too. Within minutes the burrower lays dead on top of me, then disappears in a flash of light.

You've helped kill a Small Burrower level. 4. You receive 8 XP.

As I sit up a small object falls off my chest, it must be the loot the burrower dropped. When I examine it I only get a notification that it’s an unidentified gem. I put into my inventory and get back to my feet.

I hug Vrax, “Thanks for saving me brood brother. I don’t know if I could have fought it off by myself this time. I wasn’t expecting it to drop from the ceiling.”

“Hey, what am I chopped liver? I helped too you know.” Mary pipes in as she flies to the two of us.

I look up at the offended fairy. “You’re right. I know you saved me too. I saw a lot of purple flashes hit the worm wannabe. Thanks, Mary.”

That seems to satisfy her since she doesn’t complain anymore. I tell them both about the unidentified gem the burrow dropped and promised to get it identified by Dyblex when we leave the dungeon.

I recover my health with the [Self Heal] spell. While we wait for my mana to regenerate we search the lair of the burrower. After only a few minutes I find the remnants of an adventurer. He’s still pretty fresh since there is still meat on his bones but the armor he was wearing is torn to shreds. I catch a glimpse of something sticking out from under the body and when I move it I find a small sword.

Worn Short Sword

Damage: 4-5 (Piercing)

Durability: 8/15

The handle of the sword is wrapped in dark leather and has a simple pommel. It is a little less than two feet long and ends in a wickedly sharp point. I wonder how much we can sell it for when I remember that Vrax has been training with Rex.

“Hey Vrax, look what I found. Did you ever learn how to use a short sword like this when you were training with Rex?”

Vrax thinks for a moment then answers, “No, Rex only let me practice with wooden weapons. Nothing metal like that.”

I hear Mary snicker and answer, “Yeah, I saw Rex train Vrax with a short sword like that. He wanted to train me too but I couldn’t even lift the wooden practice one.”

Perfect. I hand the sword to Vrax and he gives it a few practice swings. He seems to know what to do with it. I go back to the corpse and see that it still has a sheath for the shortsword. It’s kind of gross to unbuckle the belt and sheath from a dead body.  Vrax doesn’t seem to mind since he buckles both on with no hesitation. When he puts the short sword into the sheath at his waist he looks pretty bad ass.

Maybe we should give Vrax a nickname. Hmm, Vicious Vrax the Kobold killer? No, that makes it sound like he kills kobolds. If he were a girl kobold we could use Voluptuous Vrax. Maybe Vrax the volume discount Vaporizer?

Mary hits me with her staff, “Stop daydreaming. Your mana all restored?”

“Yeah, I’m good to go. Vrax you ready?”

Vrax nods and we’re off to beat the boss.

Chapter 7.4

Honestly, after the giant rat swarm and the burrower falling on me, I expected the level boss to be tougher. Sure, I almost died last time I fought him, but I was alone then. Now I have my team, the Trio of Terror. Ok, the team name thing is still a work in progress. Still, it’s a lot easier to fight one strong opponent when you have help.

When the three of us enter the boss’s room I see that the boar’s name isn’t Boris this time. It is Bertha the Behemoth Boar. I know, what a title. But I don’t name them, I just defeat them. Anyways, we plan to use the strategy of divide and conquer to beat the boss. Since there was only one boss, Bertha, we’ll divide her attention as often as possible and conquer her.

I grab Bertha the Boar's attention by yelling and waving my mighty spear. Ok, maybe I insult her mighty porcine heritage too. Regardless, she comes into range of my [Darkvision] in full charge mode. I’d practiced dodging this move with Rex and Keans a couple days ago just so I wouldn’t get murdered by the boar. Just like with the [Charge] attack of the horned rabbit, I position myself in front of a solid wall and dodge the boar’s special move at the last minute, causing the creature to slam into the wall and stun itself. I know the stun will only last a short time so I already have Vrax ready to [Backstab] the boar the moment it hits the wall. Vrax does considerable damage in just a few seconds with his [Backstab] ability and his new short sword.

There’s a lesson folks. Never underestimate the little guy.

Once Bertha shakes off running into the wall head first, she is pissed off. Vrax has taken off twenty percent of her health and she wants payback. She focuses her anger on the Kobold and tries to stomp him to death. Fortunately, he’s the quickest of the group and only takes a glancing blow from a hoof for minimal damage.

It was Mary’s turn to divert the boar’s attention. She flies right above the angry creature and sends magic missiles directly into its eyes. The damage is minimal but it does temporarily blind Bertha and allows Vrax to [Sneak] away.

I'm not idle while this is happening. While Bertha was trying to stomp my kobold friend into jelly, I sneak around her backside and stab and slice away at her hind legs. Again, not much damage is done, only five percent of her health. However, I disable her [Charge] ability and slow her down tremendously.

From there on out it’s an easy fight. Having neutralized the biggest threat, the [Charge] attack, we only have to worry about Bertha’s tusks and hooves when she gets close enough to use them. I get the attention of the boar with an insult or well placed [Thrust]. Then when she turns to attack me, Vrax comes out of [Sneak] mode and uses [Backstab] on the boar. When Bertha turns to attack Vrax, Mary hits her with another blinding magic missile barrage, and Vrax can [Sneak] away again in the confusion. Then we’d start the cycle all over again. It was death by attrition. The poor boss never stood a chance.

You've helped kill Bertha the Behemoth Boar level. 5. You receive 27 XP.

When Bertha the Behemoth finally falls, I remember to pick up the treasure it drops this time.

Large Boar Hide

The bristly hide of the giant boar is tough and slightly resistant to damage. It is often used to craft armor.

Sweet. I’ll have to talk to the tanner to see what kind of armor he can make out of this boar hide.

“You almost died from this boar?” Vrax teases after I pick up the treasure.

“Yeah, Team Mary kicked its hairy butt,” Mary adds. “Guess that shows how strong Vrax and I are.”

“We’re not Team Mary! But yeah, you two are awesome.” I say, “I’m genuinely surprised at how much easier this level of the dungeon is with the two of you by my side. I don’t think I could have fought off that swarm of giant rats or that burrower without you both. We make a great team.”

“Good, good. You have learned the first lesson all kobold pups are taught. The tribe makes us strong.” Vrax holds up one finger and mimes breaking it, “One alone is easy to break.” He then holds up two fingers and mimes breaking them, “Two is stronger but can still be broken.” He then holds up all the fingers on his hand and makes a fist and hits me. “But when all work together they make a mighty force that cannot be broken easily.”

Mary and I stare at Vrax dumbfounded. I think that’s the longest speech I’ve heard him ever give. When I think about what he’s said, it makes sense. The weak alone are subject to the whims of the strong. However, when the weak pool their strengths and work together the whole becomes stronger than the sum of its parts.

You’ve learned a secret lesson from the Red Claw Tribe. You’ve increased your understanding of the tribe. Further increases in understanding of the lore and history of the Red Claw Tribe may lead to increased bonuses or abilities from the magical bond you have with the tribe.

Your [Darkvision] ability has an increased range of five feet.

Well, that’s cool. By learning about Vrax’s tribe I can get new abilities? Sign me up for summer school with the Red Claw Tribe. I’ll have to talk to Vrax later about learning more about the tribe and any other secret lessons he knows.

Chapter 7.5

The three of us heal up and restore our stamina and mana pools. It doesn’t take too long to since Vrax heals his small wounds with his heal charm. Once everyone is at full strength we head down the spiral staircase that appeared in the middle of the room after Bertha died. I go first, followed by Mary, then Vrax. I have my spear in my hands ready to fight. Something could be waiting for us on the next level so it’s better to be safe than sorry.

At the bottom of the stone staircase, there is a green glow. I walk down the last steps cautiously, spear ready. The stairs end in another cavern but unlike the level above this one is not filled with cramped tunnels and glowing crystals. Instead, I look out into a huge open cavern filled with trees and plants. The high ceiling is covered in green glowing moss that gives everything a weird sickly tint.

When Mary and Vrax leave the steps the entire staircase disappears. I panic a little thinking we’re trapped, then I spot a slightly rusted bronze plate on a wall nearby and relax. I press my hand against the plate.

Teleportation Plate. Please select a level of the dungeon to travel to.

Level One -Entrance

Level One - End

Level Two- Entrance

I take my hand off the plate. I feel better knowing where the exit is.

We decide to explore this level since we did so well on the last one. This level is full of trees that are gnarled and twisted. They have small spindly branches that reach out and get caught in our clothes as we pass. It feels like the trees are grabbing us. It’s very creepy.

I have to hunch to pass under a large tree with low hanging branches. I think things are going pretty well until I hear Mary scream. When I turn around I see her on the ground bleeding and wrestling with something that looks like a stickman.  I can’t stab the thing with my spear for fear of hitting Mary. So I reach out and grab the creature with my hand and pull it off Mary. As soon as my hand grasps the stickman I feel something pierce my palm.

Damage received: 5

I throw the spindly creature away from me and look at my hand. I see a thick sharp thorn sticking out of my palm. I pull the thorn out and throw it away. Damn, this little thing is dangerous. I look around for the stickman but don’t see anything. It must have run away.

I turn to see how Mary is doing and see Vrax standing over her with his short sword out. He’s looking out into the creepy forest waiting for more of the wooden creatures to attack. I hear Mary whimper and see the red bar above her head is already half gone. I spell write [Heal] over her and pour mana into the spell until she’s back to full health.

Now that everything seems to be ok I ask Mary, “What happened?”

“I was just flying under that tree and I felt something fall on me. Next thing I know something is stabbing me in the back and I’m on the ground trying to push away this thing. It was so creepy. It has arms and legs that looked like they were made of wood. It didn’t even have a face, just something that looked like a head.” She sniffs a little as she tells us about it. I lift Mary off the ground and hug her to my chest. It must have been terrifying to have something ambush her like that. She’s still the lowest level member of the group and only has twenty-one hit points.

If the stickman had limbs that looked like wood that’s probably why we didn't see it. It was hiding in the tree waiting for us to pass underneath so it could sneak attack Mary. I know Vrax does major damage when he can [Backstab] something. I hadn’t thought that other creatures would be able to do something similar. I look around and see trees and bushes everywhere. It could be hiding right now watching us. This forest just got a lot creepier.

We decide not to push our luck for the day and head back to the teleportation panel. We teleport to the dungeon entrance. Exiting the dungeon, I see from the position of the sun that it’s mid-afternoon. We head back to the village and stop by the tanners to see how much it’ll cost to make some armor out of the boar hide. He kindly informs us that he doesn’t make clothes or armor. He just turns hides into leather products. He offers to buy the large boar hide from us for a silver or he can turn it into leather for us for thirty copper. After speaking to Mary and Vrax we agree to pool our resources to turn the boar hide into boar leather. We hand the hide and thirty copper to the tanner. He says it’ll take two days to prepare and cure.

Mary especially needs some armor and we just don’t have enough money to buy something off the rack. We’ll have to get someone to make us something. We stop by Dyblex’s shop to see if she’ll buy all the rat teeth we have or the small unidentified gem we got from the burrower.

At first, Dyblex doesn’t seem that interesting in what we’re selling until Vrax tells her about the last sneak attack on Mary.  Dyblex is surprisingly generous when I tell her the money is going to be used to make Mary some custom armor. I think the two of them bonded over their last haggling session. Dyblex identifies the gem as tiger’s eye. She offers to buy everything for one silver. We take the offer and give Dyblex all the rat’s teeth and the gem. I put the silver in my inventory. Dyblex doesn’t make leather armor but she does direct me to the tailor in town.

The tailor Dyblex recommends is a halfling in a very well made suit. He says he does make custom leather and cloth armor. I tell him about the large boar hide we got from the first level of the dungeon and ask him what he can do with it. The tailor thinks about it for a minute before directing us to a couple of sample leather armor pieces. The armor is placed on wooden mannequins so we get a good idea of what it’ll look like when we wear it.

The first set of armor reminds me of something Mad Max would wear in the Thunderdome. It is dyed black and has spikes protruding from various parts. No thanks.

The second set of leather armor is reinforced with metal studs to protect vital areas. The tailor says he can dye it any color we want.

The tailor also has a variety of cloth armor and regular clothes in a variety of styles. Mary enjoys looking at all these but we’re looking for useful armor and we know we’re not buying anything in this section. Well, Vrax and I know we’re not buying anything. Mary wants a new skirt and I promise we can buy something for her when she gets to level three.

I like the studded armor but the tailor says that a full set of that armor will cost two silver. When I complain about the price the tailor reminds me it’s only that low because we’re supplying the boar leather. That set normally costs four silver. Instead of one large piece of armor for someone my size, I ask if he can make two smaller pieces. One for Vrax, and one for Mary. The halfling says that he can do that.

At this point, Mary steps in to negotiate our price. She gained the [Haggle] skill from her time arguing price with Dyblex and uses her skill with the halfling. After fifteen minutes of intense discussion, she’s able to negotiate the price down to one silver fifty copper and the tailor gets to keep any leftover material. The tailor is willing to take a down payment of one silver with the balance due upon pick up of the finished product.

You’ve entered into a contract with the tailor Harold. For the price of one silver, fifty copper you will receive two custom made sets of studded leather armor. You have agreed to a down payment of one silver with the remaining fifty copper due upon pickup of the agreed items. If you are unable to pay the balance, you forfeit your down payment and the ordered items.

Well, that’s one way to make sure someone keeps their word. Likely makes it hard to argue about a negotiated price since both parties have a copy of the agreement in their notifications.

I tell Harold, our tailor, that we’ll have the tanner deliver the leather to him when it’s completed so he can start work on the leather armor. Harold agrees and takes all the measurements he needs to make armor for Mary and Vrax. We shake hands and head back to the tanner to let him know where he needs to deliver our boar leather. He knows Harold and promises to deliver it to him.

All our errands are done for the day and the three of us head back home. We are all pretty wiped from the dungeon and enjoy a casual dinner with Lilliandra, Rex, and Keans. We tell them about our success on the first level of the dungeon and the surprise attack we suffered on the second level.

When we tried to get more information about the second level of the dungeon, Lilliandra refuses to give us any information. Our three mentors insist that dealing with the unexpected is an important part of our development. They say that in the real world you rarely get advanced notice of the type of enemies you’ll be fighting. The three do promise to help us train to deal with stealthy enemies.

In bed that night I review in my mind all the events of the day. We cleared the first level of the dungeon with very few problems. Mary’s half way to level three and we got some good drops from the creatures on the first level. We got some firsthand experience with some of the monsters on level two and we’re going to get some armor in a few days. Even though we got ambushed at the end, it’s still been a pretty productive day.

Chapter 7.6

We have four days till Mary and Vrax’s armor is ready. We have until then to get the rest of the money to pay for it and train for what we may find on the second level of the dungeon.

Every day we spend four hours in the first level of the dungeon. We start off by killing the boss boar. Each time we kill the boss it has a different name. First, it was Bethany, then Badrick, then Bebop, and finally Bob. I feel a little let down by that last one. It’s like the dungeon just gave up trying to come up with interesting names that start with B.

After killing the boss and resting, we work our way out to the dungeon entrance. We kill giant rats and burrowers galore. We each earn about one hundred experience points a day. By the end of our second morning, Mary reaches level 3. She applies all her free stat points to her intelligence.

Mary                         Level 3 Fairy

Health                      26

Stamina                   41

Mana                        69

XP to next level:  600

Strength                   7

Constitution   13

Dexterity                  22

Intelligence    18

Wisdom          15

Charisma                 11

Between the level increase and the boost to her intelligence, Mary almost doubles her mana points. Soon she’ll have more mana than I do.

While neither Vrax nor I level by the end of our fourth morning in the first level of the dungeon, we’re getting close. I’m only forty experience points away from level four and Vrax is one hundred and eight away from level five.

All told we collect thirty rat teeth, two unidentified gems, one mana crystal, two sets of boar's tusks, and a ring of cat’s grace. The ring, adds +1 to dexterity.  We decide it should go to Vrax since increased dexterity helps him damage enemies with his short sword and dagger. The rest we sell for a total of two silver and forty-six copper. Split three ways that comes to eighty-two copper a piece.

In the afternoons after lunch, we train as a team and individually with Keans and Rex. Since we encountered a stealthy enemy on level two of the dungeon we focus on a variety of tactics on dealing with those types of enemies.

First, we practice finding enemies that are using [Hide] and [Sneak]. Keans goes off into the woods and hides then our team has to find him. If we don’t find him within fifteen minutes we have to take a lap around the obstacle course in the training area. After the fifth time around the obstacle course, we are highly motivated to find Keans. Instead of trying to match our [Search] skill against Keans’ [Hide] skill, Vrax suggests we look for other signs. He uses his [Tracking] skill to find the small traces that Keans has passed through somewhere. Then when Vrax thinks we’re getting close, all three of us use [Search] and our eyes for anything out of the ordinary. The tactic only works one out of five times but we all increase our [Search] skills, and Vrax advances his [Tracking] skill.

Rex’s approach to dealing with stealthy enemies is to 1) Take the first hit, 2) Immobilize the enemy, 3) Everyone else kills them.

This tactic would work fine for anyone with armor or enough hit points to absorb the damage of a sneak attack. When I check his [Companion] page I see that Vrax actually has forty-nine hit points, which is the highest of the group. Unfortunately, someone like Mary can easily be killed by a [Backstab] that does extra damage. Vrax estimates that he can do up to thirty points of damage if he can [Backstab] someone in a vital area like the neck or kidney. That would kill Mary and almost kill me.

Each of us practices this tactic and it seems to work best when Vrax or I take the hit. If I get hit, I can usually pin the enemy down with my spear and Vrax and Mary can finish it off. When Vrax takes the first hit, he uses his tail to trip up the enemy and stabs him. Mary tends to freak out when she’s surprised and panics. Oddly, she’s the first to attack with magic missiles when anyone else in the group is attacked.

Rex also points out that it’s very important to not let a stealthy enemy get away after they’ve made their attack otherwise they’ll disappear and hit you again for another sneak attack.

By the end of the third day, we’ve finalized our group’s tactics.

Chapter 7.7

The fourth day, after we finished with the dungeon, we head to Restrian to pick up the finished armor from the tailor.

Harold the halfling is sitting on a high stool drinking tea as we enter his shop. He’s dressed in a smart looking three piece suit and greets us, “Welcome. Welcome. Glad to see you came back for your order.” Putting his teacup down, he hops off the stool and motions us to the back of the shop. We follow him and see that he has two full sets of studded leather armor laid out on a table. They include studded leather shirt, pants, and shoes. One is sized for Vrax and is dark red. The other set of armor is tiny and dyed black.

Custom Small Boar Armor Set

Made from the hide of the giant boar by a skilled tailor.  This armor set offers added protection from slashing weapons. This armor set is dyed dark red.

Defense: 13 for the set.

Bonus: 2% damage reduction from slashing weapons.

Custom Tiny Boar Armor

Made from the hide of the giant boar by a skilled tailor.  This armor set offers added protection from slashing weapons. This armor set is dyed black.

Defense: 13 for the set.

Bonus: 2% damage reduction from slashing weapons.

“It was quite the challenge to craft something for the fairy. I’m just glad I have such nimble fingers,” he says, wiggling his digits.

Mary holds up her outfit and is bouncing up and down with excitement. I can’t help but laugh when Vrax walks up to his new armor and sniffs it. The two go into the shop’s changing room and put on their new outfits.

Vrax comes out first and looks quite intimidating. His naturally red and black scales are complemented by the dark red color of the studded armor. In the armor, his two black horns almost make him look like a short demon. Thankfully, the tailor made an opening for the kobolds tail or we’d have some bulging problems.

“Do you like the armor Vrax?”

He sniffs the armor again, then shrugs, “It’s ok. Harder to move in but better against weapons.”

As I’m looking at Vrax, I hear a small cough behind me. I turn and see Mary. Oh, boy. That tailors is a genius. The black studded leather armor looks wonderful on her. It matches her jet black hair perfectly and is a beautiful contrast to her light alabaster skin. The studs in the armor are polished bright as silver and sparkle like gems. Mary flies to a mirror set in the wall and admires herself. Turning this way and that to see how well the armor hugs her tiny curves.

“Oh, the boys won’t know what hit them the next time I go out on the town.” She says to herself.

I slap my knee and laugh, “You know it, Mary. Especially when you show up looking like a ninja.”

I gesture to the tailor and he pulls out a small package and puts it on the table. It has a pink ribbon tied around it and a tag.

“Oh, nice package you have there,” Vrax tells the tailor.

Still looking at herself in the mirror, Mary adds automatically, “That’s what she said.”

Then realizing what she’s said she turns and looks at the tailor and the parcel he placed on the table, a slight blush having crept up her cheeks, she says “Uh, I mean, Vrax is right. That’s a very nice ribbon on the box. Who’s it for?”

“Read the tag and find out dear.” Responds Harold.

Mary flies to the table and lands next to the package. She opens the tag and looks at the tailor in surprise. “It says it’s for me?”

“Surprise!” Vrax yells. “We got it for you.”

“Yeah, I know I promised you a new skirt when you got to level three but Vrax and I decided to go a little bigger since we forgot to get you something when you got to level two. Go on and open it.” I add.

Mary’s eyes light up and she tears open the package like a two-year-old on a sugar high during Christmas. In front of her are not skirts but three full-length dresses. The first is a black sleeveless dress with gold embroidery along all the edges. The second is a deep green color with a raised hemline that matches the color of Mary’s eyes. The third is a deep blood red with a plunging neckline that will turn heads when she wears it.

Mary squeals in delight. She looks at me, then Vrax, then the tailor and flies to each of us and kisses us on the cheeks. Then she takes the dresses into the dressing room to try them on.

Mary is kind enough to put on a mini fashion show for us. Flying through the air showing off how lovely she looks in each of her new dresses. I have to hand it to the tailor, he knows how to make a lady look good.

After Mary is done admiring herself in her new outfits we put the lovely dresses into their box and head to the front of the shop to settle accounts. Mary and Vrax each pay twenty-five copper to pay off the cost of their new armor. Then Vrax and I contribute another silver to pay for Mary’s new dresses. Sure, Vrax and I are broke again but it’s worth it to see Mary so happy.

Chapter 7.8

Before we head into the second level of the dungeon, Vrax says he want to visit the tribe. I think he just wants to show off his new armor but agree to go visit the Red Claw tribe. Mary tags along since she’s not doing anything else.

The three of us set out right away and arrive at the edge of the deep forest north-west of Restrian. Vrax has to lead the way from here since it’s so easy to get lost in the woods. We take a leisurely pace appreciating the coolness of the forest caused by the thick canopy above us. As Vrax leads us through the forest he points out places of interest and tracks of animals he sees. It’s been awhile since he left the tribe and I think he’s feeling a little nostalgic.

As we enter the small clearing where the Red Claw tribe lives, we’re greeted by small kobold children playing outside near the entrance to the tunnels. They run up asking for treats.

However, one young kobold is different. His scales are red and green. He kind of looks Christmas themed. He’s playing at being a hunter and has a wooden spear with a blunted tip. He challenges us as we near the tunnel entrances.

Brandishing his spear fiercely for a child, he says in reptilian, “Halt. Who goes there? Are you friend or foe?”

We stop and Vrax begins to laugh at the antics of the young kobold.

“What’s he saying?” Mary asks. Of the three of us, she’s the only one that doesn’t understand the reptilian language since I learned the language magically when I was made a member of the tribe.

“The kid is imitating the hunters and playing guard. He’s challenging us. Asking if we’re friends.” I tell her, smiling.

She grins, understanding the games kids play.

With mock solemnity, I raise my hands to show I bear no weapons and say in reptilian, “We are friend’s brave kobold. We have come to visit our friends in the tribe. I am Red Hands Armon, brood brother to Vrax the Black Horned. With me is the mighty Vrax himself and our friend Mary the fairy.”

Vrax waves at the kobold. He likely knows the kid by name but is happy to play along.

The young kobold smiles and waves at Vrax then returns his attention to me. He continues speaking with an odd seriousness only children can pull off, “I see you Red Hands. Friend and brother to the tribe. Be welcome.”

With the traditional welcome given everyone starts to laugh, except for Mary who didn’t understand a bit of what was being said. She just crosses her arms and pouts at being left out of the joke.

The green and red kobold runs up to Vrax and gives him a big hug and looks up at him, “Did I do it right uncle Vrax? Did I say the challenge and greeting good?”

Vrax hugs him back, “Yes, Suuleth. You did very well. The elder himself would be proud of you. Where is everyone?”

“The hunters are out right now and everyone else is in the tunnels working. Come, I’ll take you to the elder.” Suuleth grabs Vrax’s hand in his and tries to drag the larger kobold into the tunnels. The other children follow behind us, still wondering if we have treats and asking questions.

We’re guided into the tunnels and taken to the elder, Xichion. He’s sitting in his stone room talking to a group of kobold children in reptilian. The children seem barely old enough to walk and some female kobolds hover in the back carefully watching them all. The elder sees us and smiles. Without stopping his speech to the little ones he waves us in and points to a corner of the room for us to sit.

“Ok, hatchlings, we have time for one more story before it’s time for you to nap.” The little kobolds grumble but I see one of them yawn.

“Not that long ago our tribe did not live in this nice place. We used to live very far away and were slaves to the cruel humans in the Imperare Empire. They made us do all the hard work and were very mean to us.”

The kids ‘boo’ loudly. “That’s right. We don’t like people that are mean to the tribe.” Elder Xichion motions for the kids to quiet down and he continues, “Then one day our goddess, the dragon Cherax Quadricarinatus, told a mighty kobold in a dream to free us. So he rose up against the mean humans and broke the chains of slavery. Do you know who that Kobold was?”

The kobold hatchlings, the kids with us, and even Vrax yell together, “Argon Redclaw!”

“That’s right. The great and mighty, Argon Redclaw. He led the tribe away from the humans. They ran and ran and ran away from the mean humans. They fought wild animals and monsters until one day they made it through the secret mountain passes here. Here we dug out tunnels in the strong earth to protect us. Here we made our home.”

At the end of the story all the children cheer and wave their little clawed hands. Vrax and the brood mothers in the back clap. I can’t help but clap along with everyone. Even Mary claps and she doesn’t have any idea what was being said since it was in reptilian.

As the kids are herded out of the room by their brood mothers for their naps Elder Xichion comes up to us and takes my and Vrax’s hands.

Speaking in the common tongue the elder says, “Red Hand Armon and Vrax Black Horn welcome home. The tribe has missed you both. I see you have become stronger while you were away. That is good.” Looking up at the fairy sitting on my shoulder he continues. “You have also made new friends it seems. Who is this lovely young fairy?”

Mary curtsies towards the elder. “I am Mary. Nice to meet you elder. I have heard these two speak of your great leadership and wisdom.”

I see a slight blush creep into the elders scaled cheeks and he nods his head at Mary. “Sweet words from a sweet lady.”

He turns and addresses Vrax, “Have you ended your journey in the outside world so soon Vrax?”

Bowing his head, Vrax answers, “No elder. I have come to visit with the tribe and Armon has come to learn more about the tribe's history from you.”

Turning to me, Xichion say “Is this true Red Hands?”

Remembering the bonus I got when I learned one of the secrets of the Red Claw tribe from Vrax I eagerly answer, “Yes elder. This is true. I want to know more about our tribe. Is the story you told the hatchlings true? Was the tribe once enslaved?”

He nods, “Sadly yes.”

He stretches out his back, his bone necklaces clinking, and slowly moves to the wooden table in the room and sits down. I follow the elders lead and take a seat across from him. Vrax does not sit. Instead, he begins preparing tea for us.

Looking at Mary intently for a time, the elder seems to come to some decision.

He sighs and says, “Normally we do not share our history with outsiders, but since your guest has already heard most of it I’ll allow her to stay for the details. However, she must agree not to share this information with anyone.”

Guess the elder doesn’t know Mary doesn’t understand reptilian. Well, I’m not telling him.

Everyone looks at Mary. Mary doesn’t say anything for a moment then stands up on my shoulder and formally bows to the Xichion. “Elder Xichion, I Mary, solemnly promise never to reveal any of the secrets I am about to hear to anyone not of the Red Claw tribe.”

The elder hears Mary’s promise and seems satisfied.

Vrax quietly brings the steaming tea to the table and pours out cups of it for each of us. He then sits down to the left of the ancient looking kobold and sips his tea. Elder Xichion holds the hot cup of tea in his hands and stares into it seeming to remember the history of his people.

After a few minutes, the elder begins speaking again, “The story I told the hatchlings is broadly true. There is much more to the story that they will learn as they get older. Since you are already adults I can tell the much sadder truth.”

He takes a long sip of the tea and begins his tale. “In an age long past we were a mighty race. Of all the people on Terra only we, descendants of the dragons, were allowed to serve those mighty rulers of the world. Under their protection and guidance, we were counted the most educated and noble species of the land. We counted the greatest scholars and gifted artists among our people.

Unfortunately, like all good things, this would not last forever. Our tribe’s dragon ancestor and patron, Cherax Quadricarinatus, called our wisest leaders to her one day and told them that she and all the dragons would be leaving the waking world. She warned us that once the other races realized the dragons were gone they would turn on the kobolds and try to destroy them. She told us to flee our homes or we would perish.

At first, we did not believe her. Why would our mighty god and protector abandon us? Such a thing had not happened before. Yet, it came to pass just as she said it would. The dragons disappeared from the world and the rest of the races of the world turned on us. They killed many of us for our devotion to the dragons.

However, we were a readily adaptable people and learned to serve those in power to survive. At first, our wisest scholars were advisers to the new kings among men and elf. However, over the generations, we lost the ancient knowledge the dragons gave us and  were pushed down to do more and more menial tasks by the other races until we were considered the stupidest and weakest of the all the creatures on Terra. As a race, we were scattered throughout the lands above and below.

Our people, the Red Claw tribe, were lucky at first. Many of us heeded our goddess’s warning and fled our homes before the time of tribulation. Yet even we were eventually captured by the other races. At first, we served the noble dwarfs but during their wars with the orcs we were enslaved. The orcs were not kind masters and would torture us if they saw us writing or speaking in draconian, the language of the dragons. So we had to teach our people using reptilian. We were sold as slaves between the orc tribes but even they paled in comparison to the cruelty of our last masters.

Humans had spread throughout Terra and the Imperare Empire, in particular, become a powerful human nation. They conquered and enslaved anyone they considered ‘monsters’. The orcs fled before the Imperare Empire and left us behind in their haste to cross into the kingdom Monstrum. At first, we hoped that the Imperare would release us but those thoughts were dashed quickly. Of all the masters we’d had, the Imperare were the cruelest. They saw us only as small monsters, not even as important as their draft animals. They abused us daily and killed us for any small infraction.

Then one day, Argon, received a vision from our goddess Cherax Quadricarinatus. She told him that our time of escape was approaching and that he would lead us to freedom. At first, he thought he was going mad, receiving visions from a being he thought only myth. Soon, though, he saw the opportunity for our people. He saw that even though the humans were cruel, over the years we’d multiplied and become many. If we rose together, we could overpower the slavers with our numbers and escape.

He spread the word among the elders and though resistant at first they were persuaded by the visions from the goddess. For our people still retained our worship of her. One night, during a festival the humans got drunk and we made our move. Argon, slit the throat of his master and all who tried to stop him from escaping with his bare claws, earning the name Red Claw for himself.  He led our tribe to freedom.

The Imperare chased us as we fled but we were fleet of foot and clever. We moved constantly and soon lost our pursuers. We fled to the desert where humans starved and we learned to thrive. As we wandered, many of us became hunters and our wisest regained a bit of magic and learned to become a shaman.

My grandfather led our tribe through the mountains where we fought with goblins, orcs, and trolls. My father led us here to this side of the mountain range that separates this land from Monstrum. Since then we’ve lived here trying to avoid notice and live in peace with the humans.”

You’ve learned the secret history of the Red Claw Tribe. You’ve increased your understanding of the tribe. Further increases in understanding of the lore and history of the Red Claw Tribe may lead to increased bonuses or abilities from the magical bond you have with the tribe.

You gain Aspect of the Kobold level 1. You take on characteristics of the kobold race.

Yaay. Bonus ability from learning backstory! That’s what I was hoping for. I take a closer look at my new ability.

Aspect of the Kobold level 1

You can grow scales and increase your natural defense. +3 defense while Aspect of the Kobold is active.

Now that’s a good ability. My defense is pretty low. I’m still wearing the hand me down clothes Keans gave me when they first found me.

I feel a small punch on my face. “What are you smiling about? Didn’t you just hear that story?” Mary tells me from my shoulder. She sniffs and wipes a tear from her cheek. “Those poor kobolds.”

“Sorry Mary. You're right. I shouldn’t smile after such a tragic story. It’s just that after the elder told the history of our tribe I gained a new ability. Can’t help it if it made me happy to get it.”

“What ability did you get Armon?” Vrax asks from across the table.

Instead of answering him I activate [Aspect of the Kobold]. I’m all smiles for just a moment, then the ability kicks in. I feel terrible pain all over my body. Like every inch of my skin is being pierced with needles. I look at my red hands and see the small scales are pushing their way through my skin. I’m growing scales.

The pain subsides after a minute and I roll up my sleeves and confirm that my arms also have small scales. I poke at them with my finger but it’s scaled too. I rub my hands together. They feel so weird. Like snakeskin. I shrug my shoulders and launch Mary into the air. I wave my arms around. It doesn't feel any different when I move. That’s good. I’d hate to have an ability that restricted my movement.

Mary flies up to my face and gives it a good kick. “Hey scaly, warn a gal before you do something like that. I thought you were having a seizure flailing around like that.”

I don’t feel the kick at all, pretty cool. “Sorry about that Mary. What do you think of the scales, though? Pretty metal huh?”

Mary doesn’t say anything she just throws up the horns and winks at me.

“No, Armon, your scales aren’t made of metal,” Vrax adds, looking at me like I don’t understand that water is wet.

“Maybe one day your scales will be as hard as a dragon’s though.” Elder Xichion.

“Wait, what? I can get dragon scales?” I ask. Who wouldn’t want dragon scales?

“Yes, your magical bond with the tribe will continue to grow. Some of the strongest kobolds will gain aspects of our ancestor dragons. Some gain wings to fly, others dragon claws that can cut steel and some get the toughness of dragon scales.” The elder informs me.

I love the kobold tribe. They get the best racial bonuses!

As I think about all the many ways I could learn more about the tribe and get those dragon wings, a female kobold comes in to see if the elder needs anything. She stops in her tracks when she sees me with scales and bares her teeth at me. She whispers in the elder's ears and walks out of the room.

Worried that I offended the kobold I ask if everything is ok.

The elder laughs and informs me, “She was asking if you were available to mate? She thinks you look good with scales.”

Vrax stands up and yips with joy. “Yip, yip. That is good. I was worried no kobolds would want to mate with you, Armon. You're my brood brother but you look very ugly as a human.” He shivers slightly, “So fleshy and hairy.”

Mary laughs so hard at Vrax’s comment, she has to land on the table. She continues to laugh and roll on the table. “Ha...ugly...hairy...ha.”

I roll my eyes at Mary and tell Vrax, “Thanks buddy for your concern about my mating potential but I think I’m good.”

“No. It is my job as your brood brother to make sure you have a good mate. When was the last time you participated in a mating season?”

I think my scales turn red because Mary starts laughing even harder. “Ummm...well, I technically have never...uh…”

“You’ve never knocked scaled boots?” Mary finishes for me. “Oh my, are you a virgin?”

Is it me or is it getting warm in this room? I look around and see that everyone is staring at me

“I’ve been saving myself for someone special. OK? I won’t give my flower away to just any Tabitha, Dickey, or Harriet.”

“No wonder you’re still virgin if you call it your flower.” Mary mumbles. She turns to Vrax, points at him and says, “Ok. It’s now our mission to fix this guy up with some hottie and remedy this situation.”

Vrax crosses his arms and nods in agreement.

Mary and Vrax have accepted the quest ‘Deflowering Armon’.

I can only sigh and roll my eyes.

We spend the rest of the day with the kobolds. I play with the kids, teaching them the wonderful game of baseball. Though it’s more like stick and rock ball.  Suuleth, Vrax’s nephew, is a pretty good first baseman and the other kobold kids catch on pretty quick. In no time flat, all the kids are playing the new game and Suuleth is organizing them all into teams. Looks like he’ll be a pretty good leader one day.

Throughout the day Vrax brings a number of young scaly kobold females and introduces them to me. Vrax makes me keep [Aspect of the Kobold] active. He says it’s my only chance at getting a good mate. I feel bad that he’s so sincere in trying to find someone for me so I agree. I don’t have the heart to tell him I’m not interested in mating with a kobold so I make small talk with each female he brings me.

Meanwhile, Mary peppers me with questions about the type of woman I like. Her, I don’t answer. I know she’s only trying to bait me. She probably plans to try to set me up with Dyblex when we get back to the village.

All the kobold hatchlings and kids are a lot friendlier when I have the [Aspect of the Kobold] on. Some of the hatchlings even climb on my back when I’m trying to teach them about sports. They’re pretty adorable. Guess, from their perspective, I did look kinda funky as a human. They’ve only seen other kobolds their whole lives after all.

Since I refuse to answer Mary’s questions about who I’d ‘Marry, Mate, or Murder’, she starts to play with the kids too. She plays ‘Hide and Sneak’ with them and shows off her improved stealth skills.

It’s pretty cute to see the kids run around trying to tag the flying fairy.

Towards sunset, the hunters return from a successful hunt. Elder Xichion declares the day a celebration and everyone works hard to prepare the meat. The rest of the evening and night is spent in revelry with the kobolds.

We drink, eat, and dance the night away. Before I pass out from too much booze, my last thought is, ‘no one parties like a kobold parties.’

Chapter 7.9

Early the next morning Vrax, Mary, and I all wake up with a not so nice hangover. I have to stop doing this. The pounding in my head is just too much. I feel like I got hit by Grumph the troll again. I stagger to my feet to find Elder Xichion holding a steaming cup to me. I drink the beverage and feel a little better.

The three of us clean ourselves up and get ready to leave the wonderfully hospitable kobold tribe. Vrax gives Suuleth a hug and the three of us say our goodbyes to the tribe. A number of the females Vrax introduced to me yesterday try to convince me to stay another day and especially another night but I politely decline.

I realize that I still have [Aspect of the Kobold] active and turn it off. It’s a little disturbing how quickly the kobold females lose interest when I just look like my normal self. Oh well, guess they were only looking scale deep.

We head back to the dungeon eager to try our hand at the second level of the dungeon. While we’re walking I notice a blinking mail icon in the corner of my vision. When I activate the icon I see it’s a message from Lilliandra.

Thank you for telling us where you would be tonight. It was very mature of you. Be safe on the second level of the dungeon tomorrow.

Lilliandra

What? Checking the date on the message I see that it was sent last night. I don’t remember much of last night. Did I send Lilliandra a message? Oh, dear. What if I sent a drunk message to someone else too? Oh God! What if I sent one to Dyblex? No way she’d let me off the hook.

I pull the message tablet out of my inventory and check the sent messages. Thank goodness. No other messages were sent except to Lilliandra last night. I pull up the message.

Dear most beautiful Lilliandra,

I Armon, in an attempt to be more mature am remembering to write you a message to let you know where I am. I, Armon, and Vrax and that wonderfully intelligent and gorgeous fairy Mary, are with the Red Claw tribe of kobolds. We are going to stay here tonight and head to the dungeon tomorrow to try our luck with the second level of the dungeon. Though with Mary in the group, we should have no problems. Lol.

Armon

P.S. - Please record the name of our group officially as Team Mary.

P.S.S. - No matter what I may say in the future, the team name is definitely Team Mary.

Somehow I don’t think I wrote Lilliandra this message last night. I turn my head and see Mary watching me with the message tablet in my hands. She turns quickly, starts to whistle, and flies away from me.

“Hold it right there Mary,” I yell before she gets too far.

She stops flying away and whistling and turns towards me hovering in midair. “Yes? Is there something you needed Armon?”

“Did you write a message to Lilliandra last night pretending to be me?” I ask.

With her best ‘who, innocent me?’ look on her face she answers, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Then why is there a message here to her that says we’re officially called Team Mary now?”

With an expression of mock surprise and syrupy sweet voice she responds, “Oh, you finally named our team? How sweet of you. I knew you’d choose the best name possible. You’re the smartest, strongest, member of the team after all.”

“Hey, I thought we were going to be Team Rocket? Mary explained what a rocket was and I liked it. Why are we Team Mary now?” Vrax asks.

“Oh, Vrax. I was joking when I said we’d be Team Rocket and Mary is just playing dumb. She sent Lilliandra a message last night telling her our team name was Team Mary.” I tell Vrax in exasperation.

“Oh. So we’re not Team Mary or Team Rocket?” Vrax asks.

“No buddy we’re not,” I assure him.

“Then I vote for Team Vrax still. Or maybe Team Kobold since two of us are members of the tribe.” he shoots back.

“Now hold on. We’re team Mary! I made sure to put two p.s’s in that letter to make sure.” Mary says.

I take my best Phoenix Wright pose and point my finger at Mary, “So you admit you wrote the message?”

Having admitted she wrote the message, Mary drops all pretense of innocence. “Yeah, yeah. I wrote the message. You caught me Inspector Gadget. So what? Would you have rather I didn’t? What do you think would have happened if you forgot to send Lilliandra a message, again? Think she’d be so understanding this time? I hear mages can come up with some pretty interesting punishments for their apprentices.”

I think about all the times I’d forgot to message Lilliandra and made her worry about me. I also think about all the things a fully trained mage could do to a low-level guy like me. Hmmm. Maybe it’s not so bad that Mary sent that message.

Pretending I just hadn’t been accusing Mary of anything I tell her calmly, “Ok. You’re right Mary. It was the polite thing to message Lilliandra last night. Good work. We can settle this team name business another time.”

Sensing her advantage Mary narrows her eyebrows, crosses her arms and stamps her foot in midair and says firmly, “Oh, no we won’t. We’re Team Mary from now on.”

I take a deep breath, ready to shout this argument out when Mary continues in a scarily calm whisper, “We’re Team Mary or I’m telling Lilliandra you forget to message her again.”

I let out my deep breath without saying anything. I feel a bit deflated. I think about things for a moment then turn to Vrax. “Sorry buddy. Looks like we’re Team Mary from now on.” Then I walk away.

I head towards the dungeon, leaving a beaming Mary and a confused Vrax behind me.

Chapter 7.10

It only takes us a couple hours to travel to the dungeon and we’re waiting in line to enter when who pops up to say hello but a certain curvy armored redhead.

“Hello Red Hands, fancy meeting you here.” she says.

I look at her and notice for the first time that she has piercing blue eyes, “Hey Sonya. Nice to see you too. The names Armon, not Red Hands by the way.”

She smiles and responds, “I know, I asked around. I like Red Hands better.”

Has she always had such a cute smile? Why is she blushing?

I hear a cough and look to see Mary and Vrax standing, looking at me. Mary is looking at me with a knowing smile. Damn. Caught staring again.

“Going to introduce us Red Hands?” Mary asks.

I gesture towards Sonya, “Oh, umm. Yeah. Mary, Vrax, this is Sonya. Sonya, this is Mary and Vrax.”

Mary giggles, “Sonya? With her red hair? Is Conan around here somewhere too?”

The armored beauty holds her hand out, “I don’t know this Conan, but yes, I’m Sonya.”

Vrax happily takes her hand in both of his and shakes it vigorously, “Nice to meet you Sonya the Red. I am Vrax the Black Horned. Are you going to mate with my brood brother Red Hand Armon?”

Sonya’s eyes widen and a deep red blush spreads over her face while she has her hand shaken up and down by my Kobold friend.

Mary flies up to Vrax and hits him on his scaled head and yells, “Vrax!”

“What? She calls Armon by his tribal name. Only mates and tribe members use that.”

Mary stops hitting Vrax and puts her finger to her chin contemplatively. Then flying up to Sonya’s face she asks, “Oh. Well then miss Red Sonya, what are your intentions towards our Red Hands?”

I didn’t think that Sonya’s eyes could get any wider but I was wrong. I think her eyebrows merge with her hairline in surprise. She looks at me accusingly.

I hold my hands up in surrender, “Don’t look at me. I didn’t know any of that. You’re the one who insists on calling me Red Hands.” I put my hands behind my back, look up innocently, and add, “What kind of guy do you take me for? You could have at least taken me out to dinner first.”

Sonya turns even redder and her eyebrows furrow. She disengages from Vrax’s handshaking and walks up to me, her hand tightly wrapped around the sword at her side. She stands nose to nose with me and I think I see steam coming out of her ears.

Oh, shit. I think I made her angry. Maybe if I apologize she won’t stab me?

I try to back away and apologize but before I can say anything she smiles tightly and says, “Fine. Dinner tonight. Meet me at the Restrian Inn, that’s where I’m staying.” Then she turns around and walks towards the dungeon. I stand there stunned.

I scratch my head and look at Mary and Vrax confused, “Wait. What? I don’t understand what just happened. Did I just get challenged to a duel or a date?”

A few feet from the dungeon, Sonya stops turns around and yells, “And wear something pretty!” Then walks into the dungeon laughing.

“They both involve some potential stabbiness. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a chance at both.” Mary says with a wide smile on her face.

Vrax shakes his head and says, “Humans are weird.”

I put my hands on my hips and tell Vrax, “No buddy, just half of us.”

I get a good kick in the pants from Mary for my comment but I stand by my statement.

Chapter 7.11

We teleport straight to the beginning of the second level of the dungeon. It’s a little disorienting to go from daylight outside the dungeon to the pale green glow of the second level. While Vrax and I activate [Darkvision], Mary has to wait a minute for her eyes to adjust to the low levels of light given off by the green moss on the ceiling.

Once Mary adjusts she flies to my shoulder and lands there. The plan is for her to hide on my shoulder until the stabbie stickman attacks either Vrax or myself, then she can help take him out with magic missiles. I activate [Aspect of the Kobold] and endure the painful process of scales growing out of my skin. Considering that my defense is only six, I can definitely use the extra three the scales give me.

We use our improved [Sneak] skills to blend in with the shadows of the underground forest and make our way through the trees. Vrax is in the lead since he has the best [Search] and [Tracking] skills. We’re careful to make as little noise as possible and are constantly on the lookout for any trace of danger.

When Vrax stops I know something is up. I see him sniffing the air and looking around, his short sword already in his hand. I pull my spear out of my inventory and actively [Search] the trees above and catch the barest glimpse of movement on the branch right above Vrax’s head. I barely have the words “Vrax above...” out of my mouth when a thin shadow falls from the branch. Thankfully, Vrax hears me and raises his short sword above his head. The shadowy stick figure is nimble though and manages to turn its body just enough to avoid the sword. Still, its surprise attack is ruined and it only bounces off Vrax, doing no damage.

I don’t see what happened after that because I have my own fight to deal with. As I watched one stickman fall onto Vrax, another one managed to sneak up behind me and stab my calf.

Damage received: 11

I turn and look down to see a stickman running away trying to get back to the trees to disappear. Unfortunately for him, Mary is faster. I see three purple bolts of magical energy slam into the back of the retreating monster.

Mary deals damage: 3

Mary deals damage: 3

Mary deals damage: 4

Mary knocks the creature off balance enough to slow it down and I finish it off with my spear.

Damage dealt: 10

You've helped kill a small Twigman level. 6. You receive 10 XP.

Oh, so they’re called Twigmen? I like stickmen better. Though twig is a more accurate description of their camouflage.

I turn to see how Vrax is doing and see him sliding his short sword back into its scabbard, the stickman...I mean twigman, that attacked him dead at his feet.

I check my notifications and see he killed it in only three hits and I got another ten experience points.

“These guys aren’t so hard to kill once they aren’t hidden anymore,” I say. “It’s just like Rex said. Most stealthy monsters don’t have a lot of health and rely on hit and run tactics to defeat their enemies.”

Mary kicks the twigman corpse once before it disappears. Vrax nods in agreement while still scanning the tree branches above us for more attackers. I bend down to pick up the treasure the twigmen dropped when they died.

Viride plant (6 units)

A medicinal herb used to create or treat poisons.

Not bad. I know a herbalist who’ll buy this. Or I can turn the herbs into potions on my own and sell that to her.

After picking up the treasure, Mary flies back up to my shoulder and Vrax continues to lead us deeper into the second level of the dungeon.

We’re still mindful about what’s around us but we’re not as cautious now that we know we can kill the twigmen. That’s probably why we got caught in their next trap.

We’re walking stealthily through the underground forest, watching above us for another ambush when I feel something touch my legs. When I look down I see green tendrils wrapped around my legs. Then my feet are pulled out from under me and I fall flat on my back. Mary tumbles off my shoulders to the ground as I fall. I’m dragged into the undergrowth by the green tendrils.

Looking towards my feet, I see what’s dragging me. I see a pair of glowing eyes in the center of a bush covered in long sharp thorns and a mass of waving tendrils. As I’m dragged closer to the bush the other tendrils wrap around my hands and arms pulling them from my body.

While I’m being pulled, all I can think of is those Japanese tentacle movies. I know how those end. “Help! Don’t let it have its way with me.” I yell and thrash. The tendrils just squeeze tighter and I’m unable to keep hold of my spear. As my feet are pulled into the bush, I feel the sharp needle like thorns pierce the fabric of my clothing. The thorns seem to have a bit of trouble piercing the scales from [Aspect of the Kobold] but they get through those eventually too.

Damage received: 2

I keep yelling, not just from the pain of the needles, but in hopes that Vrax and Mary will find me. My legs are dragged into the bush next and more thorns dig into me.

Damage received: 3

Damage received: 2

Where are Mary and Vrax? Don’t they know I’m going to die by a thousand pricks? I hope who ever thought of a tentacle monster burns in...Wait! That’s it. Burn.

Damage received: 1

Damage received: 2

Damage received: 4

Even though I’ve been dragged and pierced all the way up to my waist I ignore the pain and focus. My hands may be wrapped up in tendrils but not my fingers. I use every ounce of concentration I have and spell write the symbol for ‘fire’. It’s not very big, only the size of a quarter but I pour all the mana I can into the arcane symbol. I feel the magical energy drain out of me as I power up the spell. There is a gathering of heat around the symbol and soon I begin to feel warm. I pour in more mana and my clothing starts to smoke. Then it catches on fire.

Damage received: 3 (fire)

The green tendril nearest the flame recoils and loosens its grip on me. I pull the tentacle wrapped arm closest to the flame towards the fire and it too shrinks away. I use the opportunity to press the tendril directly onto the flame and I hear a piercing scream from the bush. Suddenly the tendril that had been holding my arm away from my body is gone. Rather than be burnt by the fire, it let go of my arm and withdrawals into the bush.

Damage dealt: 5 (fire)

Damage received: 3

Damage received: 1

Damage received: 1

Damage received: 2

My body is now almost entirely engulfed by the bush. I feel thorns piercing me everywhere from the chest down. With one arm free now, I dismiss the tiny [Fire] spell I cast and spell write a much bigger one right on the bush. I pour the rest of my mana into the spell and the creepy tentacle bush bursts into flame. All the tendrils release me and I hear a wail. I scramble back away from the thorned menace.

Damage dealt: 9 (fire)

Damage dealt: 5 (fire)

It tries to put out the fire by slapping it with its tendrils but that just spreads the fire faster. Before long the tendrils stop moving and the glowing eyes disappear as the bush burns to a charred ruin.

You've killed a Devil's Snare level. 6. You receive 10 XP.

I enjoy watching the bush burn for only a moment before I remember the rest of my team. I feel a bit weak from my injuries but grab my spear from the ground and try to figure out where I was taken by the devil’s snare. I see the trail I made when the tentacle plant dragged me and follow it back where I came from. As I follow the trail I get three notifications that set me running.

You're party has killed a small Twigman level. 6. You receive 10 XP.

You're party has killed a small Twigman level. 5. You receive 8 XP.

You're party has killed a small Twigman level. 6. You receive 10 XP.

I crash through the bushes and find Mary leaning over Vrax’s body on the ground. Around them are the motionless bodies of three twigmen. Moving closer I see that Vrax is bleeding and Mary is using Vrax’s healing charm. I see the cuts and wounds he suffered close as the healing spell takes effect. Mary sags as the spell completes and the mana is taken from her.

I kneel beside her and ask, “What happened?”

At the sound of my voice she looks up frightened for a moment, then her small arms are around me, “Thank the Overlord you’re alright. One moment I was sitting on your shoulder, the next I was on the ground and you were gone.”

I put my hand on her head and hug her back, “I got trapped by something called a devil’s snare. It tried to eat me and... do other things.”

“We would have looked for you but these twigmen attacked us. Four of them dropped from the trees. Vrax and I had a hard time fighting that many off at once and one got a lucky backstab on Vrax. I don’t think we would have been able to beat them if we didn’t have this new armor. A lot of their attacks didn’t penetrate the tough hide.” She tells me.

“Four? I only see three bodies here. Where’s the fourth?” I ask, suddenly worried about another enemy.

Spitting on the ground in disgust she answers, “He ran away after stabbing Vrax. Though Vrax sliced his wooden head before he got away. Hope he dies from sap loss. I got Vrax stabilized using his healing charm but I’m out of mana.”

I pull up the group panel to see how bad Vrax is doing.

Armon

46/46 Health

62/62 Stamina

76/76 Mana

Mary

20/26 Health

30/40 Stamina

2/69 Mana

Vrax

6/49 Health

45/65 Stamina

31/31 Mana

Wait. Why do I have full health? I look at my notifications and see that I got one that says I reached level 4. I must have missed it running to find Mary and Vrax. I want to do a little happy dance but I still have Vrax to help.

Not wanting to waste the free mana, I draw the arcane symbol for ‘heal’ onto Vrax and let the mana flow. Soon his health points on the group panel start to go up. I cut off the flow of mana to the [Heal] spell when his health is fully recovered.

Once his health is restored, Vrax comes to. He looks around for more monsters to fight but Mary and I reassure him that everything is O.K. for now. He gets to his feet and picks up the short sword where he dropped it when he fell. He starts to search for traces of the twigman that got away, hoping to track it down before it can recover.

“Hold on for minute Vrax. What if he ran off to get more Twigmen? We’re not ready for another fight yet. Mary’s all out of mana and you need to recover your stamina.” I tell him.

He looks frustrated at not being able to attack an enemy immediately but he acquiesces.

Chapter 7.12

Mary drinks seven of the eight mana potions she possesses to completely refill her mana. I drink three of the seven I have to get mine topped off. Once Vrax drinks two of our distilled stamina potions, everyone is completely restored.

Mary gathers up the treasure from the twigman, some healing herbs, and Vrax begins tracking the one that got away. We follow the tracks of the twigman through the forest until Vrax says he’s lost the trail.

“I have an idea.” Mary declares when Vrax loses the trail. She makes a grand motion with her arms and says some mystical words. Then a fog rises from the ground and I hear a popping sound. When the fog clears I see a large white and grey wolf.

I point my spear at the wolf and am ready to activate [Thrust] when Mary flies between the wolf and I. “Stop!” she yells.

I’m a little confused. A big wolf shows up out of nowhere and Mary isn’t the least bit concerned? Well, not only is she not concerned. The lovely fairy flies right up to the canine and starts petting its head. Then it licks her.

The disbelief must show on my face because Mary laughs and says, “I summoned the wolf. Remember, I got summon nature’s ally when I got to level two? I’ve been practicing with it and Mr. Snuggle Butt here is a great tracker.”

“Mr. Snuggle Butt?” I ask.

“Yeah. You got a problem with that?” Mary asks and the large wolf whose head she’s sitting on bares its teeth and growls.

I hold one hand up in surrender, “Uh, nope. No problem here. Nice to meet you Mr. Snuggle Butt.”

Mary nods, hops onto the wolf’s back and tells Mr. Snuggle Butt to track the twigman. It starts to smell the ground where the trail is and then takes off at a run. I hear Mary yell, “Weeee.” as the wolf runs through the forest. Vrax and I run after the wolf.

The wolf definitely has the scent of the twigman and runs around the forest. That devilish stick monster must have crossed his own trail at least a half dozen time because I think we pass the same scarred tree four or five times.

Finally, the wolf stops running and we take a moment to catch our breath. From behind several thick bushes, a single twigman with a large gash in its wooden head walks out. The wolf growls then Mary whisper something to it and it charges forward, fangs bared. It looks like the summoned wolf is going to snap the lone twigman in a single bite. Unfortunately, mere inches away from its target the wolf it stopped. Two sets of green vines shoot out from the left and right of the wolf, wrap around it, and hold it up in midair. Mary launches herself off the wolf’s back.

I think I see a smile cross the scarred twigman’s wooden head as four other twigmen drop down from the forest canopy onto the wolf backstabbing it simultaneously. The wolf yelps once then disappears in a puff of smoke.

Seeing her summoned pet die, Mary yells “Nooooooo, not Mr. Snuggle Butt!” Mary launches a barrage of magic missiles at the twigmen that killed her wolf.

Mary deals damage: 6

Mary deals damage: 3

Mary deals damage: 6

You're party has killed a small Twigman level. 5. You receive 8 XP.

Her first round of magic missiles blows one twigman apart.

Mary deals damage: 3

Mary deals damage: 5

Mary deals damage: 4

Her second attack with magic missile doesn’t kill another twigman but it does crack its leg, preventing it from running away.

Mary’s not able to get off any more magical attacks as something thin shoots through the air and hits her. She falls to the ground and I see a thin thorn sticking out of her shoulder. She pulls it out and gets back to her feet.

I look for the source of the projectile thorn and see a blue flower as tall as I am with thorns covering it. One thorn near the flower bud suddenly gets shot at me and I have to duck or get hit.

I feel something touch my foot and when I look back I see a green tendril. I roll forward to avoid being trapped again.

I look and see Vrax standing over Mary wildly swinging his sword cutting away tendrils and trying to defend against attacks from all sides. This fight is quickly dissolving into chaos. We have four twigmen, two devil’s snares, and some new shootie flower thing. If I don’t do something soon we’re all dead.

I rush toward Mary and Vrax. I see two twigmen flanking them. I swing my spear like a hockey stick at one of the twigmen trying to backstab Vrax and launch it to where I think the devil’s snare is. I hear it crash through the foliage. I turn and stab the other flanking twigman and pin it to the ground.

Damage dealt: 9

“Finish it Vrax, while I have it pinned,” I yell.

Vrax takes his shortsword in both hands and swings it in an overhead arc chopping off the wooden head of the twigman.

Damage dealt: 13 (critical hit)

You're helped kill a small Twigman level. 6. You receive 10 XP.

I see more tendrils coming our way and fling the body of the dead twigman towards them. They quickly wrap around the body and pull it into the underbrush out of sight.

That’s two twigmen dead, one with a broken leg, and two devil’s snares occupied. That only leaves the shooting flower and the scarred twigman. I look around but don’t see the scarred twigman anywhere. He must be hiding somewhere.

I feel a stabbing sensation in my thigh as a needle-like thorn is shot into it from the projectile flower.

Damage received: 5

“That hurt!” I yell and without looking I pick up the first thing my hand touches and throw it at the flower with all my strength.

I hear a familiar reptilian yell as Vrax sails through the air right at the flower. He lands in a heap on top of the flower and begins stabbing with his short sword.

Vrax deals damage: 6

Vrax deals damage: 7

Vrax deals damage: 5

You’ve helped kill a Thorn thrower level. 6. You receive 10 XP.

Wow. That ‘fastball special’ move works. Vrax walks away from the fight with the thorn thrower with a few scratches and lots of green sap on him. Guess it’s not that tough up close.

While I watch Vrax get to his feet, I don’t notice that the scarred twigman sneaking up on me until Mary yells, “Watch out.”

Damage received: 13

I feel a deep stab in my back and then another less intense pain higher up.

Damage received: 5

This little pile of twigs is actually climbing up my back while stabbing me. “Shoot him off me Mary,” I yell and then see three purple missiles streak towards me from Mary’s direction. For a moment I think I’m going to be hit but then they curve right over my head and slam into the creature on my back.

Mary deals damage: 3

Mary deals damage: 1

Mary deals damage: 2

I feel a weight fall off my back and turn to see the scarred twigman in full retreat. I use [Thrust] and my spear shoots out piercing the monster in the back.

Damage dealt: 13

It’s stuck on the tip of my spear squirming, trying to wiggle its way off. I look and see the devil’s vine still trying to devour the other twigman I hockey slapped at it. I fling the scarred one on my spear at the same devil’s vine and see three tendrils snatch it out of the air and wrap it up tight. It pulls the scarred wooden figure into its bush but the thorns don’t seem to really harm it.

With most of the tendrils wrapping up two twigmen, I’m able to walk right up to the devil’s snare and spell write the [Fire] spell. In only moments smoke starts to pour out of the bush and it’s engulfed in flames soon after.

Damage dealt: 9 (fire)

Damage dealt: 7 (fire)

Damage dealt: 8 (fire)

Damage dealt: 6 (fire)

Damage dealt: 5 (fire)

You're helped kill a small Twigman level. 6. You receive 10 XP.

You're helped kill a small Twigman level. 7. You receive 13 XP.

You're helped kill a Devil’s Snare level. 6. You receive 10 XP.

“That’s right. Burn you twiggy backstabbing bastard!” Mary yells at the bonfire.

I look around for more enemies and realize there aren’t any in sight. I go over the fight in my head and count our enemies. That’s all of them except the other devil’s snare. The devil’s snare seems like an opportunistic monster, waiting for prey to come in range of its tendrils. So, I decide to leave it alone as long as it doesn’t bother us. Besides, I don’t really feel like trying to fend off a bunch of tendrils while trying to spell write.

Mary and I are joined by Vrax. We all sit, rest, and enjoy the warmth of our little fire. Too bad no one thought to bring marshmallows.

We rest until we’re all recovered from the fight. Vrax tells me he made level 5 after the last fight so he collects all the treasure that dropped from the dead monsters.

Azureus Plant (12)

Vial of Green Sap (6)

Wooden Ring

I’m interested in the wooden ring and take a closer look at it.

Wooden Ring

Dropped by a creature connected to the earth. This ring holds a portion of the earth’s strength and imparts that to the wearer.

Defense +1

After talking it over with Mary and Vrax, we decide I should keep the ring since I have the lowest defense of the group. The rest we’ll sell in the village.

We get up off our laurels and head deeper into the forest. Vrax leads us but we don’t encounter any more monsters before we find the boss’s room. We know it is the boss room because of the brass teleportation plaque next to it.

Instead of taking on the boss, however, we decide to head back to the village to sell our loot and purchase more mana potions. Besides, I think I have a date in a few hours.

Chapter 8.1

It’s already starting to get dark by the time we leave the second level of the dungeon. I don’t have much time to meet Sonya. The food stalls near the dungeon entrance are closing as the sun sets and I ask a vendor where the Restrain Inn is. He points south at the village and tells me it’s in the center near the jobs board.

The three of us run to the village. We head to the center of town and I see where the inn is. I put my spear in my inventory and look down at myself. I can see that my clothes are wrinkled and have numerous blood and sap stains. I don’t have a spare set of clothes so I can’t do anything about that. Instead, I straighten myself up the best I can and march towards the inn.

“Wait,” Mary yells at me. I stop, turn around, and she continues, “You're still covered in scales.”

I’d completely forgotten that I still have [Aspect of the Kobold] active. I deactivate it and feel the scales withdrawal.

Mary flies to me, sniffs, and says “Our little Armon. Going on his first date. We’re so proud of you.” She licks her thumb and starts fixing my hair. “Now remember to be nice to her. To pull out her chair and to open doors for her.”

“Yes, yes. Remember to puff up your chest so you look as big as possible and then flash your red hands so she knows you are a healthy mate.” Vrax adds as he walks up to me.

Mary and I look down at him in confusion.

Vrax just shrugs his shoulders, “What? That’s what my brood mother told me before my first mating season.”

I pull away from Mary’s grooming. “Uh, thanks for the advice you guys. I’ll be sure to pull out all the chairs and puff up real big.” Then I walk towards the entrance of the inn.

Before I walk through the doors I hear Mary sniffle and tell Vrax, “They grow up so quickly.”

The Restrian Inn is a two story building made of stone and wood. Walking through the front door my shoes land on well-tended wood floors. The base of the walls is surfaced with smooth river stones and thick timbers. Lamps line the walls and give the place a comforting orange glow. Seated behind a raised wooden desk is a petite young woman with mousy brown hair set in twin braids. To my left is a stairway with a sign labeled “rooms” and to my right is a doorway to the inn's bar and eatery.

The young woman behind the desk looks me up and down and notices my stained clothing. With a slightly disgusted look on her face, she says, “May I help you with something sir?”

Walking up to the girl I can’t help but notice her wrinkle her nose. Do I smell that bad? Maybe I should have run back to the house and cleaned up first? No, I would have been late then.

The young lady coughs and I remember her question. “Oh, yes. You can help me. I’m supposed to meet Sonya, a red headed warrior, here.”

At the mention of Sonya’s name the young woman stands up, wide-eyed, and begins shooing me towards the door. “I’m sorry sir but we don’t allow dueling indoors. If you and Miss Sonya have a problem then you’ll have to settle it outside.”

“You don’t understand…” I try to tell her but she cuts me off.

“I most certainly do understand. That woman is the fiercest warrior I’ve seen and she’s already dueled six other men. After the last one ruined my favorite rug with his blood, I told her to take her arguments outside. I don’t know what you did to offend her but if you want my advice, I’d apologize or she’ll cut a skinny runt like you down in no time.”

Wait. Sonya has her duels here? Maybe I was challenged to a fight? Mary and Vrax might have offended her and since I’m the leader of the group she may hold me accountable.

As I’m trying to decide whether or not to take out my spear, the door opens behind me and Sonya walks in. The last time I saw her she looked immaculate. Her armor was all shined up and she didn’t have a hair out of place. Now the tightly braided red hair is loose and her face is covered in dirt and grime. Her shield has a few new dents in it and it looks like it has a few scorch marks too.

She sees me standing at the reception desk and with a fierce look in her eyes she says, “Oh good. You're here already. Let’s get this over with.”

She stomps her way towards me her metal boots clang. The young receptionist says, “Miss Sonya, I’ve told you before that you can’t go killing everyone that offends you.” A sigh of relief escapes my lips knowing that the receptionist won’t let Sonya kill me. At least until she continues, “At least not in my inn. Go stab him outside if you have to.”

Sonya pauses her march towards me and puts her hands on her curvy hips and gives the receptionist the stink eye. “He’s not here to duel me, Stacy. He’s here as my guest.”

Stacy looks at me as if she can’t believe what she’s hearing.

What, I’m not her type or something?

My back straightens up and I walk right up to Sonya holding out my hand. “It’s very nice to see you again Sonya.”

Sonya takes my hand and gives it a firm shake then says, “Why don’t you go get us a table and I’ll go change out of my armor.” I nod and she walks up the stairway on the left.

Stacy, the receptionist, is still staring open mouthed as I flash her a smile and walk into the common room.

As I walk through the doorway I see that there’s a large bar to the left with a row of stools. Some of them are filled already with people that seem to be regulars, drinking. Most of the floor space has tables and chairs. There are only a couple of people eating dinner in groups of two or three. I recognize a few groups from the dungeon. At the far end of the room is a large stone fireplace with a roaring fire. Picking one of the tables near the fireplace, I take a seat.

A waitress comes over, “Hello, my name is Amanda. I’ll be your barmaid. Can I start you off with a nice ale?”

“Yes, please. Can I get two? Someone will be joining me.” I tell her.

“Oh, hot date? Good for you,” she says with a wink and a smile.

I smile right back and add, “Yeah, I’m meeting with Sonya. You know her?”

The barmaid's face pales slightly and she leans down, “Look, I don’t know what you did to offend Sonya, but just apologize and she probably won’t kill you.”

Why doesn’t anyone think I could be here for a date?

Amanda looks up towards the doorway, “Oh no. Too late. Here she comes. Good luck. Try not to bleed on the carpet. The owner gets mad.” Then she walks away quickly.

Looking back, I see Sonya making her way around the other tables to me. Even though she was only gone a few minutes the transformation is amazing. For a moment the world slows down and I think I can hear “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer. As she moves towards me in slow motion her hair seems to bounce and the light reflects off her pouty lips. Sonya’s hair is not in a braid anymore and I can see that it’s actually wavy. She’s changed into black pants and a simple white blouse. Her face isn’t covered in grime and I can see that she has freckles on her cheeks.

I’m still staring when she reaches the table and asks me, “Everything alright? You look like you got hit on the head.”

I blink and the world returns to normal speed. My face feels warm and I smile, embarrassed. “Didn’t get hit on the head. I was just noticing how nice your hair looks down. You look pretty cute.”

Sonya blushes at my compliment then takes a seat at the table. “Uh, thanks.”

As she sits, I remember that I was supposed to pull out her chair. Don’t blow this man. My brain works furiously trying to remember what else I’m supposed to do. Oh, yeah.

I wave my red hands at her.

Sonya just looks at me like I may be crazy and waves back hesitantly. Only after I wave do I remember that gem of advice came from Vrax. Thankfully, Amanda the barmaid comes over with our ales and it looks like I was just flagging her down.

Sonya and I drink our ales and take nervous glances at each other.

Ok. Think of something to talk about. Something. Anything. Why can’t I think of something?

Sonya turns to me “So, how was your day in the dungeon?”

Yaay, something to talk about!

After taking a sip of my ale I say, “Uh, it was good. My team made it to the boss room on level two of the dungeon.”

She makes a face of contempt and says, “Yeah, that’s a stupid level. All those damn twigmen are a pain in the ass. When my group went through there they kept escaping and hitting us from behind again. We almost lost one of the mages to some lucky hits.”

“Yeah, same for us when we went for the first time. My team had to practice some new tracking techniques to deal with them. The second time was easier but they ganged up on us right before we found the boss room.”

“If you think the second level is hard, wait till you reach level three. Sheesh.” She fans herself as she says this.

“Why is it harder?” I ask. Then I remember the instructions from Lilliandra and Rex not to learn about the dungeon levels in advance. “Never mind. Don’t tell me. My teachers wouldn’t want me to know.”

“Your teachers? Are they why you're so….different?” She asks. “I’m not trying to offend but you are one of the oddest people I’ve ever met. When I first met you, you were by yourself in a dungeon when you were only level two. Then when I see you again you’ve gained a level and have teamed up with a kobold and a fairy. Oh, and why do you have red hands? They’re cute but unusual too.”

I’m surprised by Sonya’s questions, especially the comments about my friends. “Umm. That’s a lot of questions. Is there something wrong with me being friends with a fairy and a kobold?”

She waves away my question. “No. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it is unusual. If you look around at the other groups that go into the dungeon they’re all made up of humans.” She leans in towards me and puts her hand on mine. “I like that you’re different.”

Is it supposed to tingle when she touches me?

“Oh, ok. Most of your questions will require a bit of explanation. I guess I should start at the beginning then.”

I tell Sonya about how I met Mary, omitting the fact that I’m from another world. Instead, I give her the same story about waking up in the forest without memory how I got there. She laughs when I tell her I woke up stark naked.

“Bet that was quite the sight.” She comments with a smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eye.

I nod. Not exactly sure how to take the comment and continue to tell her how I survived in the forest by hunting horned rabbits. Then how I ran into a worg and almost died. When I tell her how I was saved by Lilliandra, Rex, and Keans and how they’ve trained me she interrupts me.

“It’s lucky that you found such good people to help you. You could have just as easily met some unsavory bastards. We’re not that far from the Imperare Empire and they buy slaves of any race.”

She doesn't seem to care at all that my teachers aren’t human either. It’s good to know that she’s not one of those people that have issues with non-humans.

We take a break from my story to order some food. Amanda brings our orders as I’m telling Sonya about all the hard training I did with Rex, Lilliandra, and Keans.

“My father was a soldier and he taught me how to fight. He trained me but not like your teacher Rex did.” Sonya confides. “It does explain how you were able to tackle the first level of the dungeon by yourself, though.”

“I was lucky that day. If I’d just made a right instead of a left I don’t think I would have made it past the swarm of giant rats.”

“Well, luck is a valuable thing to have. You seem to have your fair share of it.”

“So, I understand how you met Mary. What about Vrax?”

“Oh, that was a bit of an adventure too.”

I then give her the abbreviated version of how I met Vrax. She roars with laughter when I tell her I took my first job to avoid marriage to a goblin. The patrons around us give Sonya a weird look at her loud comments and laughter but she doesn’t seem to notice.

Continuing with the story, I relate the choice I had to make. Between a quick solution of killing the kobolds or actually solving the problem and helping the kobolds with their troll problem.

“That’s the kind of decision veteran adventurers would have a hard time making. Risks either way.” She comments.

“Yeah, well once I heard the kobolds side of things I just couldn’t kill them. They were being forced to steal after all.”

When I get to the description of the fight with Grumph I notice that Sonya isn’t the only one listening anymore. A few other adventurers had turned their chairs to face me. So I did what any good storyteller would. I embellish and give graphic details about the fight.

Sonya winces when I describe the first few seconds of the fight when I was practically knocked out by the troll’s first hit. She gasps when I tell her about the bravery of my little friend Vrax taking on the troll to divert attention from me. When I describe how the tribe of brave kobolds tricked the troll into a stake filled pit then burned him, the crowd roars in approval. Sonya cheers the loudest.

After I finish the part with the fight, most of the crowd goes back to their own meals and ales. Telling their own stories about battles they’d fought.

In the thrall of storytelling, I hadn’t noticed I finished my food. Since I’d already told her about how I met the kobolds, I also explain how I got my red hands. Explaining the social customs of the kobolds takes a few minutes but it helps explain why the kobolds made me a member of their tribe and how I got the red hands.

I decide I won’t tell her about all the abilities that come along with membership to the tribe. I’m sure less scrupulous adventurers would try to force the tribe to give them the same rewards if they knew about them. Not that I think she’s the type, but we’re in a public place and the fewer people that have that type of info the better.

From her expression, I think she suspects I’m holding something back but she doesn’t say anything. Another reason to like this woman. She understands discretion.

Our meal finished, we order more ale.

After hearing of all my adventures, Sonya takes a swig of her new glass of ale and says, “Like I said, you're weird.” Then with a wink at me she continues, “But you’re my kind of weird.”

The comment makes me smile and I think that she may just be my kind of weird too.

“Well, you’ve answered all the questions I asked. It’s only fair I answer yours too. Ask away.”

I lean back in my seat and take a moment to enjoy my ale before asking, “Every time I see you at the dungeon you’re with a different group. Why is that?”

“That’s an easy one. All the groups I’ve worked with were full of stupid people.” She says then takes another swig of ale.

I wait for her to continue and when she doesn’t I prompt, “How were they stupid?”

“Oh, lots of ways. Sometimes the men in the group would try to hit on me and when I turned them down they’d suddenly leave the group. Others just didn’t listen to anyone. Like that fellow who charged the Giant Boar and got himself knocked out. All he had to do was listen to you when you gave us that advice but no. He knew better. There are lots of jackasses like him. They think because I’m a woman I shouldn’t be on the front lines of the fight. Like all women should be mages or healers and stay at the back of the group.”

“Is it really unusual for women to be fighters like you?”

She looks at me quizzically and answers, “See, there you go asking weird questions again.” Her words are beginning to slur a little as she finishes off her ale and orders another.

“Yes, it’s unusual for women to be fighters. Of all the adventurers I’ve met only one in ten is a woman. Most of those women have been spellcasters of some kind or another. They say women are just better at it than men but I never wanted to sit back and let someone else protect me. I probably get it from my father.” She sits looking into her ale for a moment.

“Why do you say that?” I ask.

“Well, my father was a soldier. He protected people. At least he tried. My mom got sick and died when I was young and he had to raise me by himself. Didn’t know much about raising a little girl but he did his best. Showed me how to use a sword instead of how to sew. I was learning how to ride a horse and the best way to skin a deer while other girls in the village were learning how to cook and make clothes.”

“So don’t you go expecting me to cook for you!” She exclaims after another taking another drink.

Smiling broadly I say, “Don’t worry. My mom showed me how to cook before she died. I can sew a little too. She always said she wanted her kids to be able to do everything for themselves. So you don’t have to worry about me expecting you to do any of that kind of stuff.”

Sonya stares at me for a moment to see if I’m teasing her, then says with a smile. “You get weirder by the minute.”

I laugh because I know she doesn’t mean it in a bad way.

We talk for a while more before deciding to call it a night. I walk her up to her room. We both stand in front of the door quietly and look at each other.

She does have some pretty blue eyes, and those lips sure do look soft.

Before I know it, I’m leaning in towards her and I feel a jolt of electricity flow through my body as our lips touch. My hands wrap around her waist and I kiss her harder. She responds and the world disappears as we enjoy kissing each other for a few minutes.

I hear an intake of breath as we part and see her looking at me with a smile on her face. I smile back, tell her I had a good time with her and wish her a good night. I’m walking down the stairs when I think I hear her murmur in a husky tone, “My kind of weird indeed.”

Chapter 8.2

I’m in such a heady euphoric mood, I barely remember the walk home. When I walk through the front door of the cabin I find that everyone is waiting for me. Rex and Lilliandra sit at the table holding each other. Keans is in the kitchen leaning on the counter. Vrax and Mary are standing right by the door waiting for me to get home. At first, I think they’re all awake to ask how my date went but one look at their faces and I know it’s something more serious.

Lilliandra is the first to speak. “We are glad that you are home. We’ve been waiting for you.”

“Is everything ok?” I ask her.

Rex rubs his chin and says, “No. Everything is not ok. We’ve been recalled by the adventurer’s guild.”

“Sorry to spoil your night lad but that’s the way it goes sometimes. We’ve been on leave for the last few months while we’ve been training you but it seems there is some trouble brewing and the guild is calling in everyone.” Keans adds.

“So, when do we leave?” I say.

Rex, Lilliandra, and Keans look at each other.

Rex says, “We don’t.”

Lilliandra sniffles and adds, “Not that we do not want you to stay with us. You have become an important part of our lives but we may be going to some very dangerous places and it would not be safe to bring you along.”

“There are rumors going around that some of the other nations are moving troops and making raids into these lands. We may be headed for war soon. That’s no place for someone that not even level 5 yet.” Keans says.

I want to yell at them. To tell them that I can fight. That I can help them. But I know that it’s a lie. I still get beaten by Rex every time we spar. If I faced someone of his level and skill in battle, I’d die pretty quickly. The truth is that I just don’t want them to leave me. So many other people I’ve cared about have left and never come back.

A knot forms in the pit of my stomach and I have flashbacks to how I felt when my parents died. These people took me into their home and helped me learn how to survive in this world. They didn’t have to but they did it because they’re good people.

I feel small scaly arms encircle my legs and even smaller arms on my neck. Looking down, I see Vrax and Mary hugging me.

“You don’t have to be sad brother. You still have us. You still have the whole tribe to take care of you. Just because the new family has to go, does not mean they are gone for good.” Vrax assures me.

“Yeah, you silly newb. We’re still here to watch your back and it’s not like you won’t be able to check up on Lilliandra, Rex, and Keans. They gave you that message tablet didn’t they?” Mary adds.

Lilliandra gets up from the table and puts her arms around me too. “That is right. Even if we are not with you, we expect daily messages telling us how you are doing. No skipping days or letting Mary write messages either. We want to hear from you every day.”

I feel a large hand on my shoulder and know it’s Rex, “That’s right. We’re still your teachers and friends. We expect you to ask us questions and seek our advice whenever you need help. This is not an ending Armon. It’s a new beginning.”

“Sure boy. You don’t want us to hang around you forever anyways. When Lilliandra heard you were on a date she nearly went into anaphylactic shock. Can’t have a woman mothering around like that if you're trying to find a lass to bed.” Keans says still in the kitchen.

Lilliandra gives Keans a dirty look and tells him, “He is a good boy Keans! He is not like you, just looking to bed every woman he sees.”

I hear Rex, Vrax, and Mary laugh at the argument between Lilliandra and Keans.

It’s just like Keans to be able to break the tension and change the whole mood of the room with just one joke.

The rest of the night is spent with everyone asking about how my date went and what I should do in the future. Keans laughs pretty hard when I get to the goodnight kiss. Seems he thinks more happened and that I’m leaving out the rest for Lilliandra’s sake. He teases that he’ll get the full story from me someday when Lilliandra Isn't around. No matter how much I deny that anything else happened, he refuses to believe me. So I give up trying. Still, it’s good to talk about something other than them leaving.

In bed that night I review all the events of the day and am surprised by how many emotions someone can go through in just twenty-four hours. For once, I’m not very anxious to start tomorrow. I know everything will be different.

Chapter 8.3

The next morning Lilliandra, Rex, and Keans are all packed and have procured horses to take them to the adventurer’s guild.

Lilliandra openly cries and hugs me, Mary and Vrax. Rex punches me in the arm and Keans just waves from atop his horse.

Lilliandra hands me a bundle wrapped in paper. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to train you in more spell writing. This should help you learn on your own.”

When I unwrap the bundle I find a small leather bound book. Inside are hand written notes on a variety of arcane symbols and some of their uses. The handwriting is very neat and clear. There are also notes on experiments the writer did and even accounts of their use in battles. I realize that this whole notebook was written by Lilliandra. This must have taken her years to put together.

“I can’t accept this. This is your personal journal on spell writing.” I tell her.

“No, it is only one of my journals. A very old one that I put together during my first years as an apprentice. Since you are my student, I want you to have it and learn what you can from it. I cannot have you getting into trouble because you are still half trained.”

Thanking her for giving me such a generous gift, I promise to learn everything I can from it.

Lilliandra and Rex get on their packed horses and ride up next to Keans. They all wave from their horses as they leave.

I’m a little emotional as I wave goodbye and am grateful that I’ve had such good people in my life here on Terra. I know I’ll see them again someday and that makes them leaving a little easier to handle.

Mary, Vrax, and I return to the cabin. I plan to look over the notebook Lilliandra gave me but I see a note pinned to the kitchen counter.

Dear Armon,

You’ve become like the little brother I never wanted. Still, I feel it only right to give you some parting advice.

Soon you’ll get to level 5 and be able to join the guilds. Do not join the first one you come across. Most guilds will not let you join others. While they’ll be able to train you further and provide you with resources to become stronger, they often specialize. Take your time to find your own way of fighting and research the best ones to see which fit you best. I’d recommend you travel to Barlon. It’s a large city that has many guilds for you to choose from. You’ll also be able to join the adventurer’s guild if you go there. So you’ll get plenty of chances for adventure.

Remember lad, don’t neglect any of your training just because you can take quests, though. You should only stop learning when you're dead.

Your friend,

Keans

P.S. - Oh and don’t forget that you’ll have to get a new place to stay too. This cabin is for adventure guild use only. We got permission from the guild to use it since we were on leave but soon another group will come and have to use it. Sorry.

My hands crumple the paper. Thank you so much for the advice Keans but now we have to find somewhere else to live. Mary and Vrax don’t seem that surprised when I tell them about having to leave.

“Did you think we were going to be able to stay here, rent free, forever? What are you some kind of moocher?” Mary chides.

“No, I’m not a moocher. I just hadn’t thought about what we’d do after they left. I guess I expected to be able to stay here at least. It’s kind of become like home to me.” I tell her.

“We can stay with the tribe,” Vrax suggests.

I think about it but tell him it’s too far into the forest for us to return to every day. We’d only be able to spend a few hours in the dungeon before we had to head back.

“We could always stay in the village. There are rooms we could rent or we could even stay at the Restrian Inn.” Mary suggests.

“I don’t know, that sounds pretty expensive. We could always just camp out in the woods. I’m sure my skills at woodcutting and fire making would help us build something nice.” I say.

“If we stay at the Restrian Inn you’d get to see Sonya more,” Mary says in a teasing voice while wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

“On second thought, staying at the Restrian Inn would save us a lot of travel time to the dungeon and we’d be able to get regular meals too. Very smart suggestion Mary.”

Vrax laughs at my sudden change in opinion.

The three of us pack what few belongings we have and head to Restrian.

Chapter 8.4

We arrive mid-morning at the gates of Restrian and find the village already quite active. Guards already stand ready and merchants are coming and going through the gates.

As we pass through the village gates I hear vendors already calling out about the high quality of their wares. My stomach growls when I smell grilled meat from a food vendor and I remember that I didn’t eat before leaving the cabin.

That’s another thing I’ll miss about staying at the cabin. All the delicious food Keans made. I wonder if I’ll be able to cook our own food if we get a room at the inn. Man, I’ll miss my hot plate from my world.

Checking our funds, I see we have a total of 88 copper. Guess we can splurge a little on some food. We walk up to one of the vendors and buy three rolls filled with meat. It has an interesting and slightly spicy sauce. It costs us fifteen copper but tastes pretty good.

Having had our breakfast, the three of us head to the Restrian Inn to get a room. Walking in the door I see Stacy at the reception desk her brown hair in a single braid today.

“Good morning Stacy.” I greet her.

She looks up from her desk and sneers slightly when she sees me.

“Hmm. Morning. What can I do for you? Here to see Sonya again?” She says.

I look around and say with hope in my voice, “Is she around?” Then I remember why I’m here after Mary pokes me in the head. “I mean, no. I’m not here to see Sonya. I’m interested in renting a room here. Can you tell me how much it would cost?”

Stacy’s back straightens and her eyes light up when I mention I want to stay here and she rattles off a list of prices. “Oh, well. For a standard room, it’s thirty copper per night. If you want one of our nicer rooms it’s forty copper a night. The honeymoon suite is fifty copper a night. Weekly rates take off ten percent when paid in advance. All prices include one free meal a day.”

Doing the math in my head, I figure out that it will cost us two-hundred and ten copper per week to stay here at the daily rate. Even at the discounted weekly rate, that’s still one silver and eighty-nine copper. We only have sixty-seven copper between us. We still need to eat, assuming we spend five copper a meal per person, that’s another silver and five copper a week. Wait, the room comes with one free meal that reduces the number of meals by seven a week. So that’s only seventy copper a week per person. We can share the room but not the meals. So for all three of us, that’s just about four silver a week that we’ll have to earn. Golly, the more I learn about the prices here the more I miss staying in that cabin.

I thank Stacy for the information and leave the inn with Mary and Vrax. Outside I tell the two about our money problem.

“So what? We can earn more money in the dungeon.” Mary responds.

“Mary, the dungeon isn’t a great source of income. We only have sixty-seven copper. That’s not even enough for a couple days food and lodging. That doesn’t even take into account what it’ll cost to repair our armor and weapons as we fight in the dungeon.” I tell her.

“Why can’t we stay in the forest?” Vrax asks.

“Yeah, it looks like that’s going to be the best option until we get more money together.” I agree.

“But I hate camping. Don’t you want to see Sonya more at the inn?”

“Sure it’d like to see Sonya more but I’d also like to eat three meals a day and not spend all our money. I think we’ll be fine camping for a little while. Maybe the next level of the dungeon will give us better treasures and we can live at the inn then.”

Mary harrumphs but doesn’t argue. The three of us decide to sell off the treasures we’d collected on the second level of the dungeon before we pick a place to camp in the forest. Looking through my [Inventory] I see we mostly have herbs and some green sap. We head to Allison the Alchemist’s shop and sell everything for twenty copper. Turns out the green sap is used in more advanced stamina potions.

Now that we’ve sold all the monster drops we head to the area around the dungeon. There are vendors right outside the dungeon selling items to adventurers. I’d never really looked to see what they have to sell. Looking closely I see that they’re mostly selling food, water, and adventure gear like torches and rope. The food costs more than it does at in the village so we don’t have much of an interest.

Instead, the three of us get in line to enter the dungeon. Today I notice that the line is much longer than normal. I see the normal adventurers in quality gear but I also see new groups. The new people seem to have older rusted weapons and little to no armor.

“Why are there so many people here today?” I ask the group in front of us.

“You haven’t heard? The guard is trying to recruit more people and even paying a bonus to qualified adventures. Lots of folks are trying to raise their level to qualify. Have to be at least level six.” The leader of the group tells me.

“No, I hadn’t heard. Why would they be recruiting?” I inquire.

“Don’t know for sure but there are rumors of fighting near the border. We’re not that far from there and I think the guard just wants to make sure we’re ready in case trouble comes our way.”

“Thanks for the info,” I tell him.

Turning back to my own group I ask Mary, “Think this is why Lilliandra and everyone were recalled by the adventurer’s guild?”

“The two are likely related. War creates a lot of quests for the adventurer's guild to fulfill. They’d want everyone they can get to make sure every request is taken care of.” Mary answers.

“War bad,” Vrax adds.

“Yeah, war is bad.” I agree.

While we wait in line my eyes scan the crowd for certain red head but I don’t see her. She must have already gone inside.

When our turn to enter the dungeon arrives we head straight for the copper plate and teleport to the boss’s room on level two.

The door to the boss’s room is set in the stone wall and has a single brass ring. I equip my spear and make sure everyone is ready for a fight, then pull the ring and open the door.

The rancid smell of decaying plants hit me as I enter the room. There is a dim green glow that comes from the moss on the ceiling. I can only see twenty feet in front of me and activate [Darkvision] and [Aspect of the Kobold]. I’m slightly disoriented by the combination of pain from the growing scales and the shift in vision. The pain passes after a few moments. With [Darkvision] on, I see that my scales have an iridescent quality to them that I hadn’t noticed with my normal vision.

While I can’t see all of the room, with [Darkvision] active I can see that the walls and floor are covered in creeping vines that seem to pulse and writhe. Along the vines are flowers that would almost be pretty if it weren’t for that smell. Taking a step forward, my foot sinks past the vines and into warm water.

Darn it. I hate water levels.

Remembering that Mary doesn’t have [Darkvision] and can’t see the room like I can, I say, “Hold on guys. Looks like this room has some kind of swamp theme. There are vines everywhere and I’m stepping in water already. I don’t know how deep the water is, so let me lead. I can use my spear to test the water depth ahead of us.”

Vrax nods his head in agreement while rubbing his snout. Remembering how sensitive the kobold’s sense of smell is, I can only imagine how much worse the swamp smells to him.

Flying in front of me, Mary asks, “Want me to scout ahead?”

“No. Vrax and I can both see farther than you in this dim light with our [Darkvision]. However, when we run into the boss I want you to tag him with your light spell so you won’t have any problems hitting him with your spells, ok?”

Mary salutes me. “Ok chief. Any other plans?”

I ignore the salute. “Not really. I can only guess the boss is going to be a plant based on the other monsters we’ve fought on this level. I’m going to try to use my [Fire] spell to damage it. Figured you’d hit with spells from the air and Vrax would stealth and [Backstab] it. We can figure something more concrete out when we find the boss.”

Using the butt of my spear to gauge the water depth, I lead the group through the vines that cover the surface of the water. At first, I just have to lift my knees high as I walk to get over the vines and through the ankle high water. Soon enough though the water level rises to knee height and Vrax is struggling through the vines that float on the water and come up to his waist. He tries to climb on top of the vines but he’s too heavy for them to support his weight.

“Climb on my back buddy. I’ll carry you for a while.” I tell him.

He scowls at me, indignant that I don’t think he can make it through the swamp.

“Please? I need the help Vrax. I can’t watch for the boss monster and watch where I’m going. You can ride on my shoulders and keep a lookout while I try to get through these vines and the water.”

Vrax thinks about it for a moment then smiles, “Sure. I’m always ok to help my brood brother.”

While Vrax climbs on top of my shoulders I hear Mary giggling at the way I soothed the pride of our kobold friend. Once Vrax is secure on my shoulders we continue forward.

It really is easier now that I don’t have to look forward. Instead, I can focus my attention down, where my feet are going. Using my spear as a walking stick, I place the butt of the spear in front of me to see if the floor drops. I save myself from stepping in a couple deep cracks this way and have to navigate through the vines around those areas.

It’s moments like this that I envy Mary’s ability to fly. She doesn’t have to worry about where she steps.

The water gets deeper as we continue to walk through the room. After a few more minutes, it’s about waist high and I have to cut through some of the vines covering the water to move forward. I’m cutting a particularly thick vine when I feel Vrax tap my back with his tail.

I stop cutting the vine and look up. At the edge of my [Darkvision] range, I see the end of the room. It’s almost completely covered in vines and other plants. In one corner is a particularly thick collection of vines that have twisted together to form a large tree like structure. Other than those plant features I don’t see anything else. No door, no boss monster, nothing.

“Why have we stopped,” Mary asks.

Remembering Mary can’t see as far as Vrax and me in this dim light, I explain, “The end of the room is up ahead. It’s weird, though, there’s no boss or door exit.”

“The exit to the level only appears after you’ve beaten the boss. If it’s not there, then the boss is still in the room somewhere.” Mary advises.

So far there have been no traps and nothing has attacked us. Yet I still feel a distinct sense of unease.

“We don’t have much choice but to go forward. Stay on your guard through. The boss may be hiding among the vines somewhere. We’ve seen how sneaky the monsters on this level can be.” I tell the team.

I hear Vrax loosen his short sword in the scabbard at his waist and see Mary crack her fingers, ready to cast a spell at a moment’s notice.

I finish cutting the thick vine in front of me with my spear and move forward. As we approach the end of the room I notice that the vines are all noticeably thicker. They’re about as thick as my thighs where I am now. Near the tree made of vines in the corner, they get as thick as my waist.

It’s near impossible to force my way through these extra thick vines at the end of the room. A vine is in my left hand and I am about to cut it with the edge of my spear, when I feel the vine pulse. It drops from my hand and splashes brackish water in my face. Then to my amazement, I see the vine move away from me. I poke it with my spear and see a dark green fluid ooze from the cut.

“Oh shit!” I hear Mary gasp.

Looking up from the vine, I see that all the vines emanating from the vine tree are writhing and moving.

A figure emerges from the mass of vines. Its shape is human. If a human were made from green, constantly moving tendrils.

I look and see a name appear above the figure.

Victoria the Vinething, Lvl. 7

Looking again I notice that the vines do seem to come together in a shapely feminine way.

That observation is all I have time for since the creature emits a strange creaking roar that sounds like a tree snapping in half. It then raises its green arms and tendrils shoot out at me. Surprised, I make a desperate dive to my right and feel Vrax fly off my shoulders. I hear him hit the water a moment before I do.

Water fills my nostrils as I go under the surface. I try to get my feet but feel something wrap around my legs and pull them out from under me. I am hoisted out of the water and into the air upside down. Water falls from my body and into my eyes, blinding and disorienting me for a moment. When I wipe the water away, I see that the vinething has wrapped its tendrils around my legs and is holding me up in the air. She pulls her tendrils in and I’m pulled towards her. She has her arms spread wide ready to embrace me.

If this thing is anything like the devil’s snare then I don’t want to find out what happens if she hugs me. Somehow, I’ve managed to maintain my hold on my spear. As I’m pulled closer to the vinething I use [Thrust] and my spear goes flying into the creature.

Damage dealt: 10

The creature screams in pain and throws me into a nearby wall. I lose my grip on my spear and can see it sticking out of the green creature’s chest as I fly through the air.

Damage received: 8

I bounce off the wall and onto a mass of moving vines. They’re thick enough to support most of my weight for a minute until I start to sink into the water beneath. My head is ringing from the collision with the wall but I raise it up to see that Mary has somehow tagged Victoria the Vinething with her [Light] spell, giving her a clear target. Mary’s forced to fly through the air, dodging the vines the boss shoots from her hands.

From my vantage points, I see a shadowy figure climb out of the water near the vinething and strike at its back.

Vrax deals damage: 12 (backstab)

The creature is surprised by the sudden pain and turns to focus her attention on Vrax. The moment it turns its head through, Mary lets loose a barrage of [Magic Missiles].

Mary deals damage: 3 (force damage)

Mary deals damage: 3 (force damage)

Mary deals damage: 5 (force damage)

All three magical bolts hit the monster but it hardly seems to notice. Both its fists glow green and it slams them down at Vrax. The agile kobold dodges backward but he’s only able to avoid one of the blows. Even that one hit knocks him backward back into the water.

Quickly pulling up the [Group] information window, I see that one hit took eighteen points of health from Vrax. That’s almost 25% of his total health. This thing hits hard. I minimize the window into a corner of my vision so it’s not in the way.

My spear still sticks out of the creature’s chest and its oozing green blood. Running towards the beast proves difficult. Even though the thick vines beneath my feet support my weight, they bob and bounce as I move over them. It’s like trying to run on thick pool noodles in a pool.

Having knocked Vrax into the water, Victoria the Vinething returns her attention to Mary. The last one of us to damage her. It shoots more vines at Mary but doesn’t change its position. It seems like this creature is strong but not that smart. It also seems to be stuck in that one place. The vines may support it but they also anchor it to that one location.

“Mary, keep its attention with your [Magic Missiles]. I’m going to get in close enough to use my [Fire] spell to burn it.” I yell.

As I make my way to the main body of the vinething, it seems to notice my presence and turns to attack me. Mary takes the opportunity of distraction to launch another batch of [Magic Missiles].

Mary deals damage: 4 (force damage)

Mary deals damage: 5 (force damage)

Mary deals damage: 4 (force damage)

That seems to get Victoria’s attention back and it launches more vines at Mary.

That was close. I probably should have used [Sneak] to get in close. Too late now. I spell write the arcane symbol for [Fire] directly onto the body of the vinething and pour my mana into the symbol. I feel the familiar pull of magical energy from my body and see a bubble form under the vinething’s skin.

Damage dealt: 6 (fire)

I’m surprised my magical attack does such little damage. However, I’m even more surprised as the bubble of plant matter bursts and releases a cloud of steam right into my face.

Damage received: 3

I’m blinded by the steam for a moment but that's all the time the monster needs to turn and hit me with one of its massive fists.

Damage received: 12

I’m knocked back against the wall and see the vinething’s balled fists glowing green and raised in the air over me. I raise my scaled arms over my head and close my eyes ready to be beaten to death but the blows never land.

My eyes open to see the female vine creature yelling and trying to reach behind her. I look at the damage notifications and see the one I missed while my eyes were closed.

Vrax deals damage: 10 (backstab)

Exalting at my friend's excellent timing, I move to the side and see that Vrax has stabbed the creature with his short sword deep in its back and is hanging on by the hilt. The vinething can’t reach him despite its long reach.

I know we have to kill this thing while it’s distracted but my [Fire] spell didn’t do much damage. I see my spear is still sticking out of the creature's chest.

I yell out, “It’s almost down Mary blast it!”

I run to the front of Victoria the Vinething and try to grab the spear embedded between its vine mounds. It’s stuck and I have to place my boot on its body for leverage. This move alerts the creature and I’m sure it’s going to hit me when Mary’s purple bolts of fury hit it.

Mary deals damage: 3 (force damage)

Mary deals damage: 5 (force damage)

Mary deals damage: 3 (force damage)

It’s enough of a distraction that I’m able to pull my spear out and immediately activate [Thrust].

Damage dealt: 9

The creature takes my attack and returns one of her own with a green glowing fist.

Damage received: 18

Damn. That hurt but I have another one for you. I use [Thrust] again.

Damage dealt: 8

Glancing up, I see Mary’s arms waving and another three [Magic Missiles] hit the creature’s head.

Mary deals damage: 4 (force damage)

Mary deals damage: 3 (force damage)

Mary deals damage: 6 (force damage)

I hear a yip of exertion from behind the thrashing green figure.

Vrax deals damage: 8 (backstab)

With that final attack, the Victoria the Vinething lets out a scream that sounds like wood splitting and begins to fall apart.

You've helped kill Victoria the Vinething, level. 7. You receive 37 XP.

Vrax falls back as the vines that make up the creature's body separate and splash into the water. The vines I’m standing on loosen and I sink into the water too.

Vrax floats on the water, face up. I wade over to him to make sure he’s ok. As I draw close, he opens one eye and spits a stream of water at me. The putrid water smells horrible as it hits my face and I hear him laughing. I think he’s ok.

I look up and see Mary flying above laughing as well. She’s ok too.

Looking at the [Group] window in the corner of my vision I see the fight was a pretty close one. At least for me. God, I have to stop being a punching bag for these monsters.

Armon

5/46 Health

32/62 Stamina

56/76 Mana

Vrax

50/68 Health

45/105 Stamina

37/37 Mana

Mary

26/26 Health

40/40 Stamina

29/69 Mana

I see a green orb floating on the water where the boss was and wade over to it. Holding the softball-sized object in my hands I see it’s a pretty solid green stone with flecks of dark brown along its surface. Examining it provides more information.

Nature’s Essence

Holding a portion of nature itself. This core may be used in a ritual to summon a permanent companion of nature. It will serve as the core of that being and if destroyed the creature is destroyed as well.

I put the orb and my spear in my inventory and look around for the exit to this stupid level. An arched doorway appears on a wall above the level of the water. Vines surround its frame but don’t actually touch the wood of the door itself.

“There’s the exit folks. Let’s get out of here.” I yell and move towards the door.

Mary flies between me and the door and tells me, “Shouldn’t we heal up first, just in case?”

I groan in frustration. She’s right of course. Always heal up after a fight before you explore further. That’s a basic rule when exploring dungeons in RPGs. I just hate this smelly water swamp room so much I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted to leave. I’ve always hated the water levels in video games. Guess I feel the same way in this world too.

Mary wasn’t hit at all during the fight so I don’t have to heal her. Vrax is already swimming towards us and I spell write the [Life] symbol over him to heal him up. I spell write the symbols for [Life] and [Self] to self-heal and I’m almost all healed up when my mana runs out. Close enough.

“Everyone’s all healed. Ready to move on?” I say a little irritated. I can still smell the scummy water and feel it lapping against my chest.

“Sure.” Mary answers.

“Very ready.” Vrax answers, treading water near me.

It’s much easier to push the vines out of our way as we move towards the exit. Guess it was the boss that was keeping them packed together so tightly.

Reaching the door, I pull myself out of the water onto the stone footing of the doorway. Then I help Vrax to do the same. Mary just hovers nearby. She has a slight smile on her face as she looks at the two of us dripping wet with smelly swamp water.

I get up and fling the door open to see a set of stairs that leads down. Without even asking if the group is ready, I head down the stairs. As I descend, I notice that the temperature is steadily rising. By the time I reach the foot of the stairs it’s quite hot and I’m sweating slightly.

At the foot of the stairs, there’s a well-lit doorway. I deactivate [Darkvision] and creep up to the opening. Peeking through the doorway. The area is almost completely open and I can see quite far. I see an area that can only be described as hellish. The floor is pocketed with large craters that seem to spew volcanic lava at random intervals. Flying through the air I see winged red creatures. I don’t know what they are but I don’t like how comfortable they are here.

The sound of footsteps makes me look behind and look I see that Mary and Vrax have caught up.

Gesturing towards the scene before me, I chuckle and tell Mary, “At least you’ll be able to see on this level.”

She flies to my shoulder, looks out at the fiery landscape, and fans herself with her hand, “Yeah, but I hate the heat.”

Vrax looks out around the landscape but doesn’t seem as affected by the heat as Mary or I. Instead he shrugs and walks through the doorway up to the copper teleport plate and disappears.

I can’t help but laugh. Guess he’s as anxious as I am to leave. I follow his lead and place my hand on the plate and teleport to the dungeon entrance. Mary appears beside me shortly and flies to my shoulder again.

Walking out of the dungeon tunnels, I notice the odd looks I’m getting from the guards and other adventurers. Guess I still smell like the swamp.

Considering the position of the sun, I’d guess that it’s about noon. I see Vrax and walk up to him.

“Why’d you leave so suddenly?” I ask him.

He looks up at me then shrugs, “I was tired of being wet and I got hungry after the fight with the plant lady.”

“Yeah. I’m pretty hungry after that fight too.” I agree.

“Me three. Team Mary, let’s go eat.” Mary chimes in.

With that, the three of us leave the dungeon and look for a good meal.

Chapter 8.5

Our elation only lasts until we remember that we’re broke. Between the three of us, we only have eighty-seven copper. Those are all the funds we have to see us through the week and we just can’t afford to spend any of it on a meal from the food vendors.

Instead, the three of us browse among the vendors selling camping equipment. Apparently, it’s not uncommon for struggling adventurers to sleep among the stars.

As we browse I can’t help but notice some of the dirty looks I’m getting from both adventurers and vendors. When I walk up to one vendor with a thick bushy mustache selling tents he spits on the ground in front of me and turns away like I’m not there. I’m more confused than angry at the man's actions.

“Is something wrong? Have I offended you somehow sir?” I ask him.

With a look of utter disgust on his face he says, “Only by your presence. I don’t sell to half-breeds.”

Half-breeds? What is this guy talking about? Then it clicks in my mind. I look down at my hands and realize that I still have [Aspect of the Kobold] active. I guess covered in scales I do look like something between some reptilian species and a human. Still, this guy doesn’t have to be such an ass.

Instead of wasting any more time on the prejudiced prick, I intentionally walk over to nearby another vendor selling items similar to what the bushy mustachioed one has. This vendor is as short as Dyblex but has thick curly blond hair and large round ears. He is dressed in a white cloth shirt and pants but has a dark blue vest over. He reminds me of Harold the tailor. I think he’s a halfling too.

He’s standing on a stool near his wares and greets us warmly. “Hello, adventurers. Welcome to Edward’s Emporium. I’m Edward. Is there anything I can interest you in today? We’re having a sale on previously owned adventurer’s gear.”

Mary flies up to the merchant and says, “We’d love to look at your gear Edward.” Then in a voice loud enough for the bushy mustachioed vendor to hear, “We have lots of coins to spend!”

I have to stifle a laugh at Mary’s subtlety. Sure I was going to do something similar, but not till after we’d purchased something. Vrax turns back at the vendor and sticks his tongue out.

A casually glance back and I see the vendor that refused to do business with us staring daggers.

Edward probably saw everything that happened with the other merchant and is quick to pick up on the joke. He smiles at us knowingly.

We look through the mounds of goods that Edward has. He has rope, grappling hooks, small pouches, pylons, needles and thread, mismatched armor, daggers, rusty weapons, and more. We could look through this stuff all day.

Instead, I ask him about purchasing some gear to camp in the forest.

The possibility of a sale brings a golden light to the halfling’s eyes, “Of course good sir. We have tents, sleeping bags, fire starter kits, pots, pans, canteens, hammocks, skinning knives, fishing rods, and more. Are you looking for anything in particular?”

“How about we start with the tent? We’d need something that is big enough for the three of us.”

Edward searches through the piles of items before us and pulls out two bundles. “Here you go. These two ought to fit the three of you generous folk.”

Heavy Cloth Tarp

This tarp has been specially treated to repel water and is used to provide shelter for poorer adventures. While it will keep the rain off it does not do much else.

Bonus: When used to create shelter provides a 3% increase to health, stamina, and mana regeneration.

Cost: 50 Copper

Tent of Protection

This tent is a marvel of modern ingenuity. Not only does it provide shelter but it also has a minor magical charm woven into its fabric that deters wild animals from bothering the occupants.

Bonus: When used as a shelter, provides 10% increase to health, stamina, and mana regeneration.

Cost: 3 Silver

Well, we certainly can’t afford the ‘Tent of Protection’. Should we really spend our money on the cloth tarp, though?

I get the group’s opinion on what we need.

“When we hunted for the tribe we would sometimes be out for many days. All we needed was a good fire starter and knives. The forest provided everything else.” Vrax advised.

Waving her hand dismissively at Vrax’s advice Mary says, “Yeah, but he’s a kobold. They live in tunnels. I prefer the fairy method of camping. A nice cabin in the woods with soft comfortable beds. We can roast marshmallows over a magically powered fire with some chocolate and graham crackers. I’m a big proponent of glamping.”

Scratching my head, I tell the two, “Well you two aren’t any help. One of you wants us to live off the land, pioneer style. The other wants us to buy a luxury RV.”

In my mind, I try to remember the advice of Survivorguy. The four things you need to survive are food, water, shelter, and clothing. We can collect our own food from hunting animals and gathering plants. However, we’ll need something to cook it with. So some pots and pans should be a priority. Water? We have that from the local rivers and streams. Shelter? I think I can build a good shelter. I have the [Construction] and [Carpentry] skills after all. That’ll take some time, though. What about clothing? We have clothes but are they good enough to keep us warm during the night? Maybe I should add bedding to the list of things we need to buy then? I’d rather have something between me and the cold, hard ground.

Having re-evaluated our priorities, I look at the items at Edward’s stand again. I pick out a medium sized cast iron pot that can be placed directly over the fire. I also get two sleeping bags. Mary can share with me since she’s so vertically efficient.

When I ask Edward the price for those two items, I find that the cost is still beyond what we have. Edward asks for a silver for the pot and fifty copper for each sleeping bag.

I look through my inventory and remember that we got that Nature’s Essence thing from the last boss. When I pull it out and show Edward, he feigns disinterest. However, I see that he wants it from the golden glow in his eyes. Now that we have something to barter with I let the team negotiator, Mary, step in.

The fairy flies up to the halfling and starts to use her [Haggle] skill. The two argue about the poor quality of the other’s offer and how they’re stealing food from each other's family. At one point the halfling complains that we’re trying to cut him off at the knees making him even shorter than he already is. I can’t help but laugh at the visual on that one. Still, despite all the complaining, the two seem to enjoy their haggling.

In the end, Edward’s agrees to buy the Nature’s Essence for a silver from us. We agree to buy the pot and the sleeping bags for one silver eighty copper. This wipes out all of our funds but at least we’ll have something to cook in and we’ll be warm tonight.

I place our equipment in my [Inventory].  The three of us walk off into the nearby woods. Once we’re out of sight of the vendors I deactivate [Aspect of the Kobold] and return to my more human appearance.

Now we just have to find a place to camp and some food to eat.

Chapter 8.6

Turns out that finding a good camping spot is not as easy as I thought it would be. There are plenty of money poor adventurers camping in the woods near the dungeon and they’ve already taken a lot of the good spots.

I don’t like the idea of camping near people I don’t know anyways so we head north of the dungeon for about a half hour until we come across a small stream. It’s not enough water to wade into but it’s enough to provide us with water to drink and cook with.

It’s only mid-afternoon, so we still have quite a bit of time till the sun goes down to set up a shelter and get some food ready.

“Ok team. I think this is a good spot. We have water and there are plenty of trees around for us to make a shelter. Who wants to go catch dinner?”

Looking around, I suddenly realize I can’t find Mary. She was here a minute ago. I look up and see Mary hovering above my head, pretending to examine her nails. Geez. If you don’t want to go hunting just say so.

Vrax hops up and down and raises his scaled hand and, “Me! I want to go hunting.”

I chuckle at the kobolds enthusiasm for something Mary blanches at. “Ok. You’re probably the best hunter anyways. Go see what you can get us to eat for dinner.”

Vrax yips once in happiness then races off into the woods on the hunt.

I look up at Mary, who still seems to think her nails are the most interesting things in the world. “Hey up there. I know you can hear me. I’m the only one of us that has the [Construction] skill so I have to make our shelter. What are you going to do?”

Mary blows on her nails once then looks down on me pretending to just see that I’m talking to her, “Oh hello. Are you talking me?”

I roll my eyes, “Yeah Miss glamper. What are you’re going to do to help set up camp?”

“Why do I have to do anything? Why don’t I just give you another quest to make me dinner?”

Make Mary Dinner II

Mary has an empty pit where her stomach should be. Make her a delicious dinner. Bonus XP may be given depending on the quality of the meal.

Rewards: 5 XP

Accept or Decline?

I decline the quest without hesitation. “Stop that Mary. You’re not my guide anymore. You have to help out like everyone else.”

Mary pouts when I decline her quest. “Fine. How about I supervise? I’m a great supervisor.”

Shaking my head in frustration, I say, “How about you go work on your herbalism skill and gather us some nice leafy edible plants to go with whatever Vrax catches?”

Mary starts to pretend she can’t hear me again when I add, “Also, get some potion herbs. If you do those two things then I’ll make sure to heat up some water for you to take a hot bath.”

At the mention of a way to clean off all the sweat of the day Mary’s head snaps to me, all pretense of not hearing me gone. “A hot bath? Promise?”

“Yeah, yeah. I promise.”

You’ve made a promise with a magical and highly irritable creature, Mary the fairy. In exchange for edible plants and herbs that can be made into potions, you will provide a steaming hot bath for Mary. Breaking this promise will result in lowered intimacy and reputation with Mary and likely a swift kick in the pants.

Geeze. Promises are taken pretty seriously in this world.

Before I can say anything else Mary flies off into the forest, presumably to gather the plants she needs to get herself a hot bath.

I wonder if she’ll just show up in a couple of minutes with a single edible plant and a single potion herb. That would technically fulfill her end of the deal and I’d still have to get her a hot bath somehow. I really have to watch how I word these agreements. Guess I’ll just have to trust Mary to fulfill the spirit of the deal.

I take the worn axe Rex gave me out of my [Inventory]. It doesn’t do enough damage to be used in a fight but it’s just perfect for chopping down trees. I look through my inventory for anything else I can use to make a shelter but can’t see anything useful. I don’t even have any rope.

I sigh in frustration when I think about all the little things I need to buy. Why does being a grown-up have to be so expensive? Oh well, work with what you have. No rope to tie things up leaves me very few options to build a shelter for the night. Guess I’ll try the classic teepee shelter.

Let’s see. What did Survivorguy say he needed to build a teepee? Oh yeah. Poles. Long thick poles. I’ll need at least three but the more the better. Especially since I don’t have that tarp to cover everything. If I remember correctly, he used the rope to tie the long shafts together but said if some of them had forked branches at the top they’d still stick together. Scanning the nearby forest for trees that are the right length and thickness only produces a couple candidates. Still, a couple is better than nothing.

I walk up to the first tree and look up. It’s reddish brown, about twelve feet tall and about a foot wide at its base. The bark is rough but I can smooth that out with the axe once it’s down. It splits into branches and canopy on top and I think I can shape it later to be one of the forking poles I need. Since it’s not nearly as thick as the trees we used to build the training grounds and hopefully it’ll take a lot less time to chop down.

Taking the tree chopping stance Rex taught me, I swing the axe. My first hit pierces the bark and cuts deeply into the tree. Before I know it my chopping has cut away most of the tree and its own weight brings the rest down.

As the tree falls, I smile and yell, “Timber!”

No matter how many times I do that it’s still fun to yell.

I walk up to the felled tree and begin stripping branches off with the axe. I chop off the canopy and most of the branches. I intentionally leave a place at the top of the pole where two branches break off, forming a two-pronged fork. Even with the canopy gone it’s longer than I need. So from the forked top, I pace off about nine feet and chop off more of the base.

Now that it’s a little easier to manage I need to get this guy back to camp. I start to pull the tree by the base but realize I’ll damage the forked top if I drag it on the ground. So instead I grab part of the tree slightly below the top and hoist it onto my shoulder and walk forward. It’s a little tough walking when the back of the tree drags so much but there’s not much I can do about that.

Since this first tree wasn’t that far from our planned camp, it isn’t that long of a walk with the tree. Still, I feel a bit tired when I get there and drop the pole on the ground.

I check my stamina and see that it’s a third the way down from chopping the tree and dragging it here. That means I can chop down that other tree before I have to rest.

I walk over to the only other tree thin and long enough to work as a pole and repeat the work I did. Unfortunately, this tree cracks near the top where branches are and I have to cut off that part. That means I can’t use it as a forked pole. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll find more.

After I drag the trimmed tree back to camp, I sit to restore my stamina. If I want the bonus to stamina regeneration I can’t move around while I rest. Instead, I try to figure out how many of these poles I’m going to need. I know I need at least three that can interlock to form the core of the teepee. So at least three with forks in them.

I close my eyes and I begin mentally building the teepee, starting with the three-forked poles. I raise them up and interlock them at their tops so that their bases form a triangle pattern. Then I mentally start laying more poles onto the core to fill in the empty places until I have a shape that looks like a cone with the pointy end up in the air. Mentally counting all the poles I come to a count of thirteen. That’s three forked poles and ten regular poles.

I open my eyes and smile. My stamina is full and I only have eleven more poles to cut down.

It takes a few hours to find the right trees, chop them down, trim them, and drag them back to camp. I get notifications telling me that I’ve gained levels in the [Logging], [Carpentry], and [Workhorse] skills. I dismiss the notifications without thought. Who in the world would want to intentionally raise that [Workhorse] skill? All it does it let me pull things like a horse would.

Pushing thoughts of useless skills out of my mind, I get started on putting the teepee together before Vrax and Mary get back. I’ve already arranged the poles in a circle around where I plan to make the teepee. I grab the first forked pole and raise it up at a thirty-degree angle then try to grab another forked pole and raise it up to interlock in midair with the first one. It’s a challenge to balance the two poles and I end up dropping the first one to the ground before they can connect.

I don’t understand what’s going wrong. I’m sure I’m supposed to lock together the forked ones first. As the two forked poles lay there on the ground at an angle to me, slap my head. That’s right. Lock them together before you raise them. Survivorguy would be sorely disappointed I didn’t remember that part.

I lock the two poles together using their forked tops. Then I raise one of the poles from the base. It takes the other pole with it. Soon both poles are supporting each other at about seventy degrees with the ground. If I walk back a little it looks like they’re making a triangle shape.

I take the third forked pole and raise it up and lock it to the other two. Now though it looks like a pyramid that was cut in half. At least all the poles are supporting each other.

It takes some time to adjust each of the three poles before they take proper pyramid shape. Then I start to add the other poles. I add them carefully so that no one side of the teepee core takes too much weight at any one time.

Soon I place my last pole and admire the beautiful cone shape I’ve created. I walk around the structure and realize that I forgot to leave space to walk inside the teepee. I adjust the poles until there’s enough of a gap that I can walk into the structure.

I feel rather proud standing inside my first teepee and find myself unconsciously strutting and puffing up my chest. I look up and see some of the gaps between the poles and the hole at the top where the poles meet. I can add some of the branches with leaves that I trimmed to the outside of the teepee to cover those holes.

I walk outside and start gathering branches with leaves. Then I layer them on the outside of the teepee. I try to overlap the leaves so that I cover all the gaps. Walking back inside the teepee, I see the sun shine through in a few places. I add more layers of leaves until the sun doesn’t shine through anywhere except the circular hole at the top where the poles meet. I’ll leave that hole for ventilation.

You’ve created a [Teepee] from the materials around you.

You've gained a level in [Craftsmanship]. Novice 3.

You've gained a level in [Construction]. Novice 4.

Teepee

A type of shelter that is made from material found in the forest. It is mobile and only takes practiced hands minutes to put up.

While resting in this shelter the regeneration rate of health, mana, and stamina are increased. Improved shelters give larger bonuses.

Current bonus: 10% increase to health, stamina, and mana regeneration.

A regeneration bonus from my [Teepee]? Sweet.

I’m almost done congratulating myself on my good work myself when I hear someone cursing and coming towards the camp.

I walk out of the teepee and see a pile of leaves flying towards me in an erratic zigzag pattern.

Looking at it in wonder I say, “What in the world is that thing?”

The leaves seem to hone in on the sound of my voice and make a beeline to me. I almost take my spear out of my [Inventory] when a small muffled voice speaks from the leaves, “Here are your leafy greens and potion herbs.” Then the pile drops directly on my head.

I look down and see hundreds of leaves. Some are red, others yellow or blue. There are even some I recognize from when I made that salad for Mary.

I pick a few stray leaves from under my collar and look up to see Mary, covered in bits of broken leaf and sap. She smiles at me and says, “Don’t say I didn’t keep my end of our bargain Armon. Now where’s my bath?”

When I think about Mary combing through the woods collecting each of these plants one at a time, then stacking them and flying here, I can’t help but laugh out loud. Never underestimate a determined fairy.

I feel a small sticky foot kick me in the head. “Hey, stop laughing. Where is my bath? I need to get all this sap off me.”

“I haven’t made it yet. I just finished making our shelter.” I tell her and point behind me.

As if she just noticed the teepee she responds with a smile, “Oh, is that what that is? I thought you were making a leaf pyramid.”

“Yeah, yeah. Joke all you want. Go inside though and you’ll see it’s pretty nice.”

Mary sniffs indignantly then flies inside the teepee then flies right out of the hole at the top. “Hey, there’s a hole here.”

I stomp my foot, a bit exasperated. “That’s supposed to be there. It's a ventilation hole. So we don’t get too hot at night.”

Mary looks at me for a moment, one eyebrow raised in disbelief. Then she cracks a smile and starts laughing. “I know what a teepee is stupid. I’m just giving you a hard time.”

She then flies down and lands at the entrance of the teepee and kicks one of the poles. The pole barely shivers.

“It’s not bad,” Mary admits. “But I still want a steaming hot bath. Get working on that or I’ll start getting mad and knock over your sticks and leaves.”

I take threats from annoyed women seriously. So I begin making preparations for Mary’s hot bath.

Chapter 8.7

Getting a hot bath ready isn’t that difficult, it just takes time. First I use our new cast iron pot to gather water from the nearby stream. Then I make a circle of rocks and put all the odd bits of wood leftover from making our shelter in there and spell write the [Fire] spell over the wood to start a fire.

By starting a campfire you’ve established a [Camp]. Bonus to health, stamina, and mana regeneration while in camp. Current bonus: 5%.

That’s right. Creating a camp gives some nice regeneration bonuses. That added to the bonus from the shelter makes camping a pretty good skill to have. Now how to heat up this water?

I decide to make an improvised spit to hold the pot over the fire with some of the branches from the woods. While the water heats up over the fire, I use my axe to carve out a bowl-shaped depression in a stump. The depression is deep enough to act as a bathtub for Mary.

By the time the water is boiling, the sun is starting to set. Mary watches in anticipation as I pour some of the hot water into the bathtub. I feel the heat from the boiling water as I pour it and worry the water is so hot it would boil my fairy friend. Using the empty water skins still in my inventory I collect some cold water from the stream and the pour some of it into the bathtub. That does the trick. It’s still hot and steamy but not boiling.

Mary sits on the edge of the tub and runs her hand through the water. She smiles at the luxury of the hot bath. Looking up at me she says, “Ok. I guess this will do. You’ve fulfilled your end of our deal.”

Congratulations. You’ve fulfilled a promise made to a friend.

Mary begins to take off her black leather armor and I quickly turn my back to her. I hear a giggle, the sound of splashing water, and then a deep sigh.

“Oh, dear Overlord. That feels good. You can turn around now.”

I cover my eyes with my hands and slowly turn around to face Mary. She laughs when she sees that I still have my eyes covered.

“You can uncover your eyes, Armon. You can’t see anything. Not that you could handle it if you could.”

I peek between my fingers and see Mary relaxing in her bathtub. Her head is laid back and her arms are outstretched on the rim of the tub. The water is covered with a thick layer of soapy bubbles that completely hides the rest of Mary. Steam rises from the tub and from the sensuous smile on the fairy’s face I’d say she’s enjoying her soak.

Surprised that Mary is able to produce such fine soap bubbles from seemingly nowhere I ask, “Where’d you get the bubble bath from?”

Still in the tub with her eyes closed, Mary lazily answers, “Oh, I made sure to collect some soap weed while I was gathering those herbs. If you crush the roots and mix it with water it makes a nice soapy lather. How else did you expect me to get cleaned up?”

“Truth be told, I hadn’t thought about it. I guess I got used to having bars of soap at the cabin.”

Seeing Mary enjoy her bath makes me realize that it’s been a couple days since I’ve taken one of my own. Too bad I can’t make myself a bathtub as easily as I did for Mary.

While I think of different ways I can make myself either a tub or some kind of shower, I hear a sound behind me. I see Vrax emerge from the darkening forest pulling two poles.

He yips at the sight of the fire already made and declares, “I have returned from the hunt!”

“Three cheers for our mighty hunter.” Mary yells. Mary and I cheer enthusiastically while our stomachs growl and Vrax bows from the waist acknowledging our praise.

I see that the poles Vrax is carrying is actually a litter with a package about the size of a large pumpkin wrapped in large green leaves. “What did you bring us might hunter?”

Vrax yips in laughter at the eager tone in my voice and replies, “Meat brood brother. Lots of good meat. I stalked and killed a mighty deer.”

He then starts to unwrap the package and I see a thick hunk of meat that makes my stomach stand up and take notice. I can already imagine the taste of that meat cooking over our campfire.

I feel water hit my back as Mary splashes me from her place in the tub, “Stop drooling and go make dinner Chef Boyardee.”

I take the hint and add more wood to the fire and ask Vrax to cut up the meat into three parts. Once the meat is divided up I slide each piece onto the improvised spit to cook them over the fire. The flames are high enough that they lick the meat as it cooks. I turn the spit to evenly cook the meal and my mouth waters as the smell of the charring meat hits my nose.

While the meat cooks I prepare the large edible leaves Mary collected. I ask Vrax to wash them off in the stream and then arrange three palm sized leaves in a fan pattern to serve as a plate for each of us.

Once the meat is nicely cooked I take it off the fire and put each piece onto the edible leaf plates. Suddenly inspired, I decide to slice the meat into long strips then wrap the lettuce like leaves around them.

You’ve made a [Lettuce Wrap with Deer Meat]

You've gained a level in [Cooking]. Novice 6.

Lettuce Wrap with Deer Meat

A delectable combination of crispy charred deer meat wrapped in crisp lettuce leaves. This dish is both delicious and portable.

When eaten, increases regeneration of health and stamina by 8% over 30 minutes.

I love my cooking skill. Not only do I get to make great food but I get rewarded for it.

The smell of the food is too much for my stomach to stand anymore and I take a bite out of the lettuce wrap. The lettuce is nice and crisp as I bite into it and the moment the juices from the meat hit my tongue I can’t help but moan in pleasure.

I’m enjoying the first bite of this new meal with my eyes closed when I hear a voice next to my ear.

I turn and see Mary flying near my ear, now out of the tub, dressed in a white fluffy bathrobe. “Hey, what about the rest of us? You going to eat all that food by yourself?”

I mumble through a mouth full of food, “Oh, you're done with your bath? Yeah. Let me make you some too.”

I make Vrax a lettuce wrap but have to cut the meat extra thin to make lettuce wraps that will fit into Mary’s fairy hands. However, from the lip smacking sounds they’re making while they eat they don’t seem to mind the wait.

I finish my own food and enjoy every bite of the lettuce wrapped meat.

When I’m finished I pass out the now filled water skins so we can wash down the food with cool water from the stream.

Night has fallen as the three of us sit in front of the fire eating and drinking. As we enjoy the meal we talk about our fight in the dungeon.

“I can’t believe that boss on the second level was so difficult,” I lament. “My [Fire] spell did almost no damage and my spear attacks were almost as useless.”

Vrax yips in agreement and adds, “Yes, my [Backstab] did less damage too.”

Mary rolls her eyes at our ignorance. “That’s because it was a swamp plant. They have a lot more water inside them and that probably negated your [Fire] spells damage.”

“What about my spear and Vrax’s sword then? Why’d they do less damage?”

“Well, I’d have to look at your damage notifications and compare them to the ones for other fights but I’d guess that the Vinething had some resistance to piercing weapons like your spear and Vrax’s short sword. Some creatures are just naturally resistant to certain types of damage. It’s like trying to mine stone in a mountain. If you use a mining pick it’s much easier than if you used a hammer. Sure both technically get the job done but one works a whole lot better.”

“So you’re saying that I should have used another weapon like an axe then?”

Mary takes another bit of lettuce wrap and thinks about my question for a minute. “The Vinething might not have had any resistances to a slashing weapon like an axe but you may not have been better off using it. You're used to the spear and you have the [Thrust] ability that increases damage. You’d lose all that if you used a weapon you’re less familiar with.”

A little exasperated from the unsatisfying answers Mary is giving me I blurt out, “Then how could we have fought better?”

Mary shrugs and points at me with the lettuce wrap in her hand. “You tell me, fearless leader. I don’t know everything about every creature. I don’t have access to the fairy guide database anymore. I can only tell you that some creatures are going to be resistant to different types of damage. We have to learn to deal with it.”

I sit and think about the fight in my mind for a while. “Hmm. I can’t say for sure but maybe ice magic would have worked better than fire magic. I could have frozen the water in the vines of the Vinething. It might have slowed down its movements if it froze.”

Mary adds, “Yeah, changing the type of magic you used could have helped. My magic missiles did the same damage they always do.”

Mary finishes her food and yawns. “I’m pretty tired. How about we talk about this more tomorrow?”

I’m feeling rather sleepy too now that I have a full stomach. I nod in agreement and pull the two sleeping bags we bought from my [Inventory] and put them in the teepee.

The three of us go into our new shelter with full stomachs.

Before I fall asleep I remember that I leveled up today and pull up my [Status] screen and am pleased by what I see. I decide to hold off on assigning my unspent stat points until tomorrow.

Name: Armon Ellington

Age:              19

Level: 4

Class: none

Titles:  none

Exp to next level: 821

Unspent Stat points 5

Health:     46

Stamina:  62

Mana:     76

Str:      16

Dex:    17

Con:   18

Int:      22

Wis:   12

Cha:   12

Defense:  7

One handed Damage: 9 - 11

Two Handed Damage: 10- 13

Skills

Sneak: Novice 7 (32%)

Observe: Novice 4 (21%)

Craftsmanship: Novice 3 (3%)

Firestarter: Novice 2 (61%)

Cooking: Novice 6 (17%)

Spear Mastery: Novice 7 (4%)

Unarmed Combat: Novice 1 (2%)

Shield Mastery: Novice 4 (16%)

Logging: Novice 5 (89%),

Workhorse: Novice 4 (21%)

Carpentry: Novice 4 (9%)

Construction: Novice 4 (90%)

Knife Mastery: Novice 2 (11%)

Herbalism: Novice 7 (23%),

Sleight of Hand: Novice 3 (1%)

Search: Novice 7 (45%)

Shield Mastery: Novice 6 (13%)

Magical Engraving: Novice 4 (14%)

Magical Aura: Novice 5 (29%)

Aura Projection: Novice 5 (31%)

Mana Control: Novice 5 (35%)

Alchemy: Novice 5 (3%)

Abilities

Darkvision, Thrust, Shield Bash, Aspect of the Kobold 1

Spells

None

Arcane Symbols Known

light, dark, water, fire, earth, air, force, self, life, and death.

Chapter 9.1

I wake up with a message notification symbol blinking in the corner of my vision. Yawning, I sit up and get the message tablet from my [Inventory]. There’s a new message waiting for me from Lilliandra.

Armon,

I understand that things have been busy for you. We had to leave so quickly I am afraid that we may have left you in a difficult situation. We have tried to prepare you as much as we could to survive in the world but I still worry. Please let me know that you are O.K. and have found a safe place to stay.

Lilliandra

I read the letter and am touched that Lilliandra cares enough to worry about me. I get right to writing a response.

Lilliandra,

Thank you for checking in on me. I understand that you didn’t have any choice in being summoned by the Adventurers Guild. Vrax, Mary, and I are all doing well. While we were caught off guard a little by your departure we have managed to secure shelter and have used the skills you, Rex, and Keans have given us to live off the land. Hopefully, we can gain enough experience and treasure from the dungeon that we can start saving enough for better accommodations.

You’ll be happy to know that we finally killed the boss on the second level of the dungeon. It was more difficult than we anticipated but we made it. It did expose a weakness in our strategy, though. I’ve been relying on the arcane symbol for fire too much and this time it didn’t get the job done. I have to expand my knowledge of spell writing if I’m going to be prepared for future challenges. I was thinking of trying to learn how to create ice spells, unfortunately, I don’t know the arcane symbol for that effect. Your guidance on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Armon

By the time I finish writing my message to Lilliandra, Vrax and Mary are awake. We’re all hungry so I have Mary look for some edible greens and Vrax go hunting for our breakfast. I gather some wood and start a fire. After the fire is nice and hot, I head down to the stream to get cleaned up. I really envy Mary her hot bath. While I can use the soap weed that Mary pointed out to get clean it’s still pretty cold work.

After I get clean, I look at my clothes and see all the blood, sap, and sweat stains. It doesn’t really make sense to put on dirty clothes after I get clean. So, I use some of the soapweed to scrub my pants, shirt, and underclothes clean. I hang the garments near the warm fire to dry but in the meantime, I’m hanging around in my birthday suit. I decide to activate [Aspect of the Kobold] so I don’t feel quite as vulnerable.

While Mary and Vrax are out I also gather some of the leaves Lilliandra used to make her tea. I put some water in our pot and hang it over the fire using the spit. When the water comes to a boil I take it off the fire and add the tea leaves. The leaves steep for a few minutes and I’m ready to take them out of the water when I hear a gasp behind me.

I turn around and see Mary hovering in midair covering her eyes. “By the scaly testicles of Smaug, what are you doing? Why are you naked?”

I’m about to tell her that I was washing my clothes when she says, “Oh my god! Were you..? Ewwww. Why didn’t you hang a tie on a branch or something? No one wants to walk in on that.”

It takes me a second to understand what she’s talking about. When I do get it, I blush. Though I’m not sure you could tell with the scales.

“What?! No. I wasn’t doing anything like that. I washed my clothes and they are drying over by the fire. I don’t have anything else to wear, though.”

Mary peeks through the fingers covering her eyes. “While I’m glad you decided to wash your clothes, do you think you could cover up your little lizard?”

I look down and realize what she’s talking about. I turn around and walk towards the fire. My undergarments aren’t quite dry yet but I put them on anyways. “There. All better? No more free-range lizards to scare you.”

Mary uncovers her eyes and responds, “Your lizard didn’t scare me. I was just concerned for its safety. It was all shriveled and miserable looking.”

I groan at the barbed comments. She sure knows how to wound a guy’s pride.

I can’t win this one so I change the subject. “Ok, ok. You win. How about you get the veggies for breakfast?”

Mary laughs and calculates a figure on her hands. “You bet I won that one. That makes the score, Mary: 10 Armon: 0.” She then starts to pick up the broad lettuce leaves on the ground. She must have dropped them when she saw me roasting my chestnuts by the fire.

“How about some of that tea? Oh wait, what am I going to drink it out of?”

I’m already walking to the pot of tea when her statement registers. Darn it. She’s right. We don’t have cups either. There are so many little things we need. Rope, plates, cups, utensils, soap, spare clothes, and more cookware just to start the list.

I sigh and say, “Sorry. Hadn’t thought of that. I can make us some plates and cups if I can get the tools to do the woodworking. I can probably improvise something for you now, though.”

I look around the camp and see some scrap wood by the teepee. The wood is from the shaping I did to the teepee poles. It’s not big enough to make anything for Vrax or me but with a little whittling, I can make Mary sized cup.

I take the piece of scrap wood and use the sharp tip of my spear to hollow out and trim the wood until it resembles a wooden thimble.

You’ve created a Wooden Fairy Cup

Wooden Fairy Cup

An amateur attempt at crafting a cup out of wood. It’s sized for the fairy folk. It won’t win any art competitions but will hold liquids.

I dismiss the notifications and hand the cup to Mary. She takes the cup and examines it. After running her hands over the rough uneven surface, she shrugs and says, “Well, I suppose it’s the thought that counts. I’ll go get myself some tea.”

While Mary gets herself some tea, Vrax returns from a successful hunt.

I smile at my friend and ask, “What’d you get this time mighty hunter?”

He walks past the fire, right up to me. He inhales deeply then rubs his nose with one clawed hand. “You finally took a bath. Good. I was worried something died in your loin cloth. You smell much better now.”

I hear Mary snort, then sputter and cough while laughing. I turn and see her wiping her face. She laughed so hard she squirted tea out of her nose. “Ha. I couldn’t have said it better Vrax. He was getting pretty ripe, wasn’t he?”

Vrax nods vigorously in agreement with Mary.

“Ok, you two. I get it. I’ll be sure to clean up more often.” I didn’t smell that bad, did I?

Vrax laughs a little then pulls out five pieces of meat. “I set some snares last night while I was out hunting and when I checked this morning they caught some horned rabbits. When I killed the rabbits they dropped some nice meat for breakfast.”

I pat him on the back in congratulations. “Perfect. We can have rabbit kabobs then.”

I find some appropriately sized straight branches and skewer the pieces of rabbit meat with them. Then I cook the meat over the fire until they’re brown and crispy on the outside.

You’ve created Rabbit Kabobs.

Rabbit Kabobs

You’ve put meat on a stick. In this case rabbit meat. When eaten, increases regeneration of health and stamina by 6% over 30 minutes.

“Breakfast is ready,” I tell everyone and hand Vrax and Mary a kabob each. I take one and put the other two in my [Inventory] to eat later.

While we eat by the campfire I receive a response to the message I sent Lilliandra.

Armon,

I am glad to hear you are using the skills we taught you. It makes me feel better knowing that we helped give you some of the tools you are using to survive.

I am surprised to read that you had such a hard time against the Vinething. While I am not with you, I am still your teacher. So I cannot just give you a direct answer to your questions about creating ice magic. I can advise you to think about what ice is and where it comes from. Also, please use the research journal I gave you to further your understanding of spell writing. It should help you on your search for an answer.

I look forward to reading your next message.

Lilliandra

P.S. - Remember to wear something warm at night when it is cold.

I sigh after reading the letter. Well, I guess I didn’t expect it to be that easy to learn a new branch of magic. I know Lilliandra wants me to learn how to think for myself and that researching and experimenting are important to the learning process but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

“What are you reading?” Vrax asks.

I put the message tablet away and answer, “A message from Lilliandra. I wrote her earlier, letting her know how we were doing and asked for help developing ice magic to help us with the Vinething boss and on the next level of the dungeon.”

“Well, what did she say?”

“She didn’t want to give me a direct answer but said to think about what ice is and where it came from. Whatever that means.”

Vrax smiles and pats my knee. “Oh, that is an easy one. Ice comes from the mountains or from the water when it gets cold.”

“That’s right buddy. It does. However, I have to think about how I can use that to make a spell. I don’t know an arcane symbol for cold. I know the symbols for air and water but not freeze or cold.”

Mary finishes her rabbit kabob and joins the conversation. “Well, I don’t know much about spell writing. What have you been doing so far when you’ve used it?”

I think back to my early experiments after learning the first ten arcane symbols. “Well, writing any one or two symbols basically gathers that element. When I’ve spell written the arcane symbol for ‘fire’ it just gathers fire wherever I wrote the symbol. I did the same thing when we built that wall on the first level. I wrote the symbols for ‘water’ and ‘earth’ and it gathered mud around the rocks we’d piled.”

“Do all the arcane symbols gather elements?” Vrax asks.

“Uh, no. I know the symbol for ‘self’. I use it with the symbol for life to create a healing spell that targets me.”

Mary sips the tea in her fairy sized cup. Then waves her hand and says. “Well, then it just sounds like you need to learn some new arcane symbols that let you create the ice you want. Didn’t Lilliandra leave you her research journal so you could learn that kind of stuff?”

I wince a little at the comment. “Yeah, she did mention that too.”

I felt a little embarrassed that not one but two people had to tell me to pick up and read the book on spell writing to find my answers before I actually do it.

“Guess I know what I’m doing today. Magical research and experimentation. What about you two?”

Vrax scratches his head with a clawed finger. “I can hunt. Or fight in the dungeon.”

“That sounds like a good idea actually. I’m not that far from getting level 4. Vrax and I can farm mobs on the first level of the dungeon.”

I check Mary’s [Companion] screen

Mary              Lvl 3

Health                      26

Stamina                     40

Mana                        69

XP to level:              179

Skills: Unarmed Combat - Novice 1, Sneak- Novice 3; Hide-Novice 3, Herbalism: Novice 3 (3%), Haggle: Novice 6 (17%), Search-Novice 6

Abilities: None

Spells: Light, Summon Nature’s Ally I, Magic Missile

She’s right. Less than one hundred and eighty experience points to level four.

“What is a mob and why are we farming it? I want to hunt or fight in the dungeon.” Vrax asks.

I smile at Vrax and explain, “She means you two are going to kill enemies in the dungeon repeatedly. She wants to fight the easier enemies on the first level to get the easier experience points.”

Turning to Mary I say, “That sounds like a good idea. We could use the money from selling the monster drops too. We have a lot of things we need. I’d write a list for you but we don’t have paper either.”

Mary rolls her eyes, “Ok. Ok. I get it. We need things. After Vrax and I finish with the dungeon we’ll stop by the general store and buy some of the items we need.”

Vrax and Mary leave for the dungeon and I find a nice shade tree to sit against place and read Lilliandra’s journal.

I open the worn book and flip through its pages. There are a lot of small notes written in flowing script, charts, and diagrams. It reminds me of the notes I had to take in my chemistry classes.

I start at the beginning of the journal and read the first passages.

This journal marks the beginning of my training with Miracle Max. He is one of the only wizards that has any experience with spell writing on this coast. He was once court wizard to nobility but has since retired to an estate in the forest.

It has taken me a month of pestering the human to get him to agree to train me. Even then I had to prove my determination to endure his training. He had me collect a rare herb from the mountain side that only blossoms under the third phase of the moon near a waterfall. It took me two weeks of searching to find the right place in the mountains. Then I had to wait around another week until the proper phase of the moon occurred. When I returned to Max he said the herb could be used in a spell so powerful it could bring back the ‘mostly dead’. He refused to explain further.

The rest of the first pages talk about all the preparations she had to make to learn spell writing. A week of non-stop writing practice, wrist exercises, and calisthenics. Then she writes about the months of magical theory she had to learn before she could learn a single arcane symbol.

Guess I got the abbreviated version of spell writing. I’m glad I didn’t have to go through all that.

I skip through the parts where Lilliandra had to practice writing each of the ten beginning arcane symbols for weeks and the month of meditation practice until she learned to control her mana and project it.

I stop at the next part, though. It’s a detailed record of her first experiments with spell writing. Like me, she spent time experimenting with different combinations of the arcane symbols she knew and how changing the mana flow affected the outcomes.

There’s an interesting experiment where she combined the ‘earth’ and ‘self’ symbols and got an effect where she was covered in stone or dirt and got a defense bonus. Unfortunately, the spell wasn’t specific enough and covered her eyes and mouth.

A lot of the other experiments she conducted failed but there is one that might help me learn how to create an ice spell.

Experiment Set #63 - Effect Removal

Goal: Cancellation of previously established spells and their effects.

Lilliandra started to learn more arcane symbols and one was the symbol for ‘remove’. This one new symbol was the basis for the entire experiment. How to counter the spells of other mages. There’s a whole list of experiments. Some use the new arcane symbols but other do not.

She had the assistance of another mage that would cast spells and Lilliandra would try to counter them or remove their effects.  She’d put out fires by spell writing the ‘water’ or ‘earth’ symbol, she countered healing effects with the ‘death’ symbol, and a darkness globe with the ‘light’ symbol.

Once she started adding the ‘remove’ symbol things got interesting. She combined ‘remove’ with any elemental symbol to remove that element. ‘Remove’ combined with ‘fire’ not only puts out a fire but removes the burning effect. ‘Remove’ combined with ‘light’ makes an area darker. Some of the more interesting results from these experiments were the removal of the poison effect by combining the symbols for ‘remove’, ‘water’, and ‘death’, pulling air from someone's lungs by combining ‘remove’ and ‘air’, drying out clothes by combining ‘remove’ and ‘water’.

There are also plenty of failed combinations listed. ‘Remove’ and ‘darkness’ doesn’t do anything noticeable. ‘Remove’ ‘earth’ did pull pieces of rock and dirt from an earth golem created by the assisting mage but didn’t do much else.

I hear my stomach growl and pause my reading. I look up and see that the sun is already past its zenith. I’ve been reading for hours and I’m starting to get hungry. I stand up, stretch my legs, and pull the two kabobs I saved from this morning out of my [Inventory]. They’re cold but still tasty.

As I munch on the food I think about the journal and what these experiments teach me. The ‘remove’ symbol seems to draw out the elements it’s combined with like someone drinking through a straw. That means it needs a source to draw from or nothing seems to happen. I wonder what happens to the element that’s drawn out. The notes in the journal don’t say. Maybe they dissipate? If they don’t, can I then redirect that element into another spell?

I can already see the application of combining ‘remove’ and ‘fire’. That would pull any fire effects from the creatures on the third level of the dungeon. I don’t know if it would damage them but it would make them less dangerous.

Reading these experiments, I feel like I’m on the verge of a breakthrough. Nothing in the experiments deals directly with creating an ice spell, though.

I’ve finish my kabobs and find myself pacing around the extinguished campfire as I work through this problem.

Ok. Start over. What is ice? Ice is created when water freezes. What causes water to freeze? Lowered temperature. If we were in the high mountains where the temperature was low I could just gather water with the arcane symbol and watch it freeze. Since I’m not in the high mountains though I have to lower the temperature artificially.

I slap my forehead with my hand at the obvious answer. Of course, refrigerators. How did I not see it before? Refrigerators and freezers specifically make things cold enough to freeze. They do this by transferring heat to a coolant. I mean I know an actual refrigerator is more complicated than that but the idea is based on transferring heat from one place to another making the first place colder.

Is it as simple as using the arcane symbols for ‘remove’ ‘fire’ on water? When I’ve spell written ‘fire’ before it doesn’t actually create fire. Instead, it gathers heat energy until a fire is created. So removing that same heat energy should create a drop in temperature causing water to freeze. Why stop at water, though? If it works at all, I could freeze meat, vegetables, and fish. Heck, I could freeze whole meals and start a frozen food business.

Well, there’s only one way to test this out. That’s experimentation. First through I need to learn the arcane symbol for ‘remove’. If I mess up the symbol when spell writing the whole thing could blow up in my face.

I don’t have paper, or anything to write with. So I guess I’ll be practicing by drawing the symbol in the dirt with a sharp stick.

I take one of the sticks I used for the kabobs and snap off enough so that it is about pencil length. Then I sharpen the end to a point and begin drawing the arcane ‘remove’ symbol in the dirt. I’m copying the symbol from Lilliandra’s notes so I have to hold the journal in one hand while I squat and draw the symbol in the dirt with the other.

The ‘remove’ symbol is much more complicated than the other arcane symbols I’ve learned. It’s slow work at first since I have to get each curve, squiggle, and line exactly right and I keep having to pause and look at the journal for reference.

I practice drawing the ‘remove’ symbol for the rest of the afternoon. I still don’t have it memorized by the time Vrax and Mary get back from the dungeon.

I pause my practice when the two walk into camp dirty but happy looking. “So, how’d your day in the dungeon go?”

Mary flies up to me and smiles, “It was a tough day but I finally reached level four.”

“Yeah, we killed lots and lots of rats to do it,” Vrax adds.

I reach up to her and give her a little hug. “Congratulations! Now we’re both level four. Vrax is still a level above us but we’re catching up pretty quick.”

Knowing that Mary gets to choose a new inherent spell every even level I ask, “What’d you choose for your next spell?”

“I haven’t chosen yet. I only reached level four after our very last fight and I thought I’d talk to you and Vrax about it before choosing.”

I sigh understandingly. “That’s cool. I haven’t decided how to spend my unassigned stat points yet either. I know I’ll need more mana if I’m going to continue casting spells but I also fight monsters directly. I could use more strength for damage and constitution for more health and stamina. So many options, so few stat points.”

Mary clucks her tongue. “That’s because you insist on trying to be too many things. You want to be a fighter and a spell caster? Please. Make up your mind.”

“Hey, call me a dreamer but why can’t I be a spear wielding, spell slinging, armored, monster killer?”

“Because in a fight, you can only do one at a time. How are you supposed to go toe to toe with an enemy and still throw a spell from a distance? Or protect the other caster, me?”

I stand, put my hands on my hips, and give my best superhero pose. “Well, I intend to break the mold.”

Mary sticks out her tongue and pinches her nose. “Well, before you took a bath you were already getting pretty moldy. That’s for sure. Anyways, back to my original question. What do you and Vrax think I should pick as my next spell?”

Vrax laughs at the joke Mary made. I choose to ignore the barb about my hygiene.

I sit back down and ask, “What are your choices?”

“Here instead of me telling you, I’ll show you. Let me set the permissions on this window so you can see it.” Mary looks at a status screen we can’t see, seems to poke the air a few times, and then a blue window appears. Mary pulls up her spell options and shows us.

Please choose a new spell: Nature's Grasp, Fog Cloud, Detect Magic, or Light Heal

Nature’s Grasp

Nature herself responds to your call. A patch of thorny vines springs from the earth to entangle your enemies.

Mana: 10; Lasts 1 minute. Cannot be cast on locations that would be unable to support plant life.

Fog Cloud

Summon a cloud of fog to distort the vision of your enemies and your allies.

Mana: 15; Lasts 5 minutes or until dispelled.

Detect Magic

For the duration of the spell, you can sense magical auras around objects and people.

Mana: 10; Lasts 10 minutes.

Light Heal

You can heal yourself or another person for a small amount of health.

Mana: 10; Restore 5-7 points of health. High Intelligence increases health healed.

Looking over her options I can see several good choices. “Well, it kind of depends on what you want to do in the group. If you want to heal us during a fight, light heal is the way to go. If you want to help control the battlefield, then I’d go with fog cloud or nature’s grasp.”

Vrax sits and scratches his scaly head, then points at me. “We have a healer already. We don’t have a way to fight big groups. Last time we fought that many rats, we had time to make a strong wall. Maybe we’re not so lucky next time.”

I nod at the good advice from my kobold friend. “That’s a good point but I can’t heal and fight. That’s why I gave you that healing charm.”

“Well, you two aren’t much help. Ok, crowd control it is.” Mary selects an option from the list of spells she’s given.

“So what’d you chose?” I ask.

“Nature’s grasp. It seems more useful than fog cloud. Plus I get to choose who I cast it on.” Then putting on a fake angry face she continues, “So you better be nice to me or you may wake up one morning in a thorny bed.”

“We’ll be nice. We’ll be nice.” Vrax responds quickly then looks at me with a slightly worried face and whispers, “I don’t like thorns.”

I laugh and give Vrax a light punch in the shoulder. “She’s just joking Vrax. She wouldn’t do that to us, her teammates.” I turn to my fairy companion and continue, “Would you Mary?”

Mary just sniffs, turns her head, and flies away.

“She’s just kidding.” Then I look at the retreating back of Mary, I remember how we got our team name and mumble under my breath, “I hope she is anyway.”

Chapter 9.2

That evening while we eat dinner around the campfire, I try to casually bring up Sonya to my friends. I really like her and want to know what they think of her.

“So, you guys were at the dungeon today, huh? Run into anyone interesting while you were there?” I ask as casually as possible while munching on a rabbit kabob.

“Yup, yup. We saw many new people. Tall people, short people, hairy people, fat people. Lots of people trying to get stronger,” Vrax answers.

Mary picks up a small pebble and throws it at Vrax. “He’s not asking about them. He’s asking about Sonya.”

Then turning to me, she gives me a coy look and asks, “Aren’t you lover boy?”

I gulp and get a little nervous at the direct question. “Well, maybe. Ok, fine. Yes. Did you see Sonya when you were at the dungeon?”

Mary laughs at the blush that has obviously crept up my face when talking about Sonya. She quirks her lips and taps her finger on her chin. Then in mock confusion answers, “Hmmmm. I don’t know that I can remember any Sonya. Can you tell me what she looks like?”

I scowl at Mary’s teasing and am about to tell her off when Vrax says, “What do you mean you don’t remember Sonya? She that red hair human you talk to before we go inside the dungeon. You said she was a good woman to ‘take Armon’s flower’ before you talk to her.”

Suddenly it’s Mary that’s blushing and hisses at Vrax, “You weren’t supposed to tell Armon that!”

Sighing at the lost opportunity to tease me more, she continues, “Yes, we saw Sonya and I may have talked to her for a little while before we went into the dungeon.”

Impatient for her to continue I prompt, “Well? What did you talk about?”

Mary looks at me like I’m stupid, raises an eyebrow and says sarcastically, “The foolishness of starting a land war in China.” Then in a less sarcastic tone she continues, “What do you think we talked about? You stupid. After a little small talk, Sonya asked why you hadn’t come to see her again or sent her any messages.  I had your back though and told her we’d just been busy trying to find a new place to stay.”

Sonya asked about me? Guess she thought our date was memorable too.

I’m reminiscing about the nice kiss at the end of that date when Mary interrupts my recollections and asks, “So, why haven’t you gone to see her again?”

A little confused, I ask, “What do you mean? We tried to see her yesterday when we were checking on prices at the Restrian Inn. She wasn’t there.”

Talking to me like I’m slow in the head, Mary asks. “Yes. I was there. But why didn’t you leave a message for her with the receptionist or even send her a love note on your message tablet?”

I shrug, still confused where Mary was going with her questions. “Uh? I didn’t think about that. I guess I figured I’d see Sonya eventually and could talk to her then.”

Mary flies up to me with a slightly disgusted look on her face and pokes me in the chest with her now bare kabob stick with each word. “You...are...such...a...guy!”

I’m surprised by the change in tone from Mary and look at Vrax hoping he understands what’s going on. Vrax just rubs his scaled temple with a clawed hand and shakes his head at me.

I throw my hands up in frustration. “What? What am I missing?”

“You mean besides a fully developed brain?” Mary mutters.

Vrax sits closer to me and pats my knee in an almost fatherly manner. “Brood brother, you cannot ignore female if you want to mate with her. She looks for another mate if she thinks you are not interested.”

A weird sense of panic comes over me and I look at Mary, then Vrax. “Wait. What? I’m totally interested in Sonya. Why would she not think I’m interested? We had a great time on our date.”

Vrax answers, “Then why didn’t you continue to court her? Every kobold knows that after the first meeting you send gift or love poem to show continued affection. If you don’t then it is a signal that you are not interested anymore.”

I look at Mary and ask, “Is that true? Was I supposed to send her a gift after our date? I thought I was supposed to wait three days before I called her or something.”

I put my hands on my head and admit, “Ok, look you guys. I don’t know if you can tell or not but I haven’t dated a lot. I was very socially awkward growing up and had other things to worry about than dating. It was only once I made it into college that girls started to even like me. The closest I got to asking a girl out was crushing on this girl in my art class all semester. I was working up the courage to ask her out after finals but then I ended up here.”

I bow my head in supplication to my two friends, “I have no idea what the rules are for dating where I’m from much less here. Please help me.”

Mary flies up to my head and pats it gently. “Ok. Ok. I didn’t realize you were such a noob to love. I’ll teach you the ways of romance young padawan. Rule one: Give women attention. Women are generally more emotionally expressive than men and need written or verbal reassurance that you’re interested. You can send her a letter, or a message, or give her a special gift. But do something that lets her know you were thinking about her.”

Vrax agrees to help too. “Yip. I will help too. Kobold females go crazy for love poems and fresh meat. I know many good love poems but you have to give her meat yourself.”

Mary snickers when Vrax says that I’ll have to give Sonya ‘some meat.’ I roll my eyes at her.

“Thanks, Vrax. I’d love to hear some of the love poems. Maybe I can send one to Sonya.”

Vrax clears his throat and hisses off a long soliloquy of sounds in the reptilian language. It’s actually quite beautiful and touching.

When he’s done Mary asks, “Umm. Someone mind translating that for those of us that don’t speak reptilian?”

I have to think about it for a moment before I answer, “Well, not all of it translates well. However, it comes out something like this:

‘When I first met you in the tunnels we were both hatchlings and I knew then that I loved you. When we grew up so did my love for you. I was entranced by the sensuous curve of your tail and the radiant coloring of your scales. My heart skipped a beat when you spoke and my mind soaked in the wisdom of your words. The first time your tail touched mine I knew you loved me too. Be mine dearest.’”

Mary looks at Vrax like she’s never seen him before and comments, “That’s pretty good. I didn’t know you could be so eloquent.”

Vrax responds, slightly embarrassed, “I write that one myself. It gets me many responses during mating season.”

“You should write Sonya something like that. It doesn’t have to be as good at what Vrax wrote but you should definitely write her something.”

I pull out my message tablet and try to think about what I want to write her. I start writing and show Mary the results.

Dear Sonya,

I had a great time on our date. Please respond if you did too.

Armon

Mary reads it then lets out a deep sigh. “That’s it? Haven’t you been listening? With women, it’s about feelings. Tell her how you feel, you emotionally stunted ape.”

I think about how I feel about Sonya and what I felt on our date and write another draft of my message to her.

Dear Sonya,

Thank you for the wonderful time on our date. I’ve been thinking about you ever since. I feel great warmth in my heart every time I think about our time together. I feel lucky to have someone like you to talk to and hope you feel the same. Please let me know if you’d be available to spend more time together soon.

Armon

I show Mary and Vrax the next draft.

“Better brood brother. Better. But you write about you too much. Write nice things about her. What did she wear during date? Remind her of funny thing you did or said.”

Mary pats Vrax on the shoulder and tells him, “Yeah, that’s good Vrax.” Then turning to me she adds, “Vrax knows how to talk to women. You could learn a thing or two from him.”

Ok. Draft three.

Dear Sonya,

Thank you for the wonderful date. It was the best time I’d had in a while. I’d never noticed how curly your hair was until I saw it down that night. I loved how it looked and think it framed your beautiful face wonderfully.

I’m sorry I was so awkward at the beginning of our date. You could probably tell how nervous I was when I flashed my red hands at you. I’ll admit I don’t date much and was just not used to being with someone so attractive and interesting.

I’ve been thinking about you ever since that night, especially our last moments. I feel great warmth in my heart every time I think about our time together. I feel lucky to have someone like you to talk to and hope you feel the same. Please let me know if you’d be available to spend more time together soon.

Armon

After reading the third draft of the message, Mary and Vrax give their approval.

I send the message and hope for a quick response.

Chapter 9.3

The next morning I’m the first to wake up again. In the corner of my vision I see the message icon flashing and quickly pull the tablet out of my [Inventory].

Dear Armon,

Thank you for your message. I’d be happy to spend more time with you. Did you want to meet at the dungeon tomorrow morning? The two of us can fight some monsters together.

Sonya

I look at the time the message was sent and realize that Sonya sent it last night after I fell asleep. I write off a quick response to Sonya confirming that I’d be happy to meet her at the dungeon and run to the stream nearby to clean up a little. I know that people are already lining to enter the dungeon and I don’t want to Miss Sonya.

After a quick scrub in the stream, I go back to the teepee and wake Mary. She groggily wakes up and I tell her about my date with Sonya at the dungeon. She mumbles something about ‘it being too early for fairies’ and falls back asleep.

I shrug and take the stick I was practicing spell writing with and scratch out a brief message for Mary and Vrax.

Early date with Sonya. Dungeon.

I leave my two friends still sleeping and set out for the dungeon.

Thankfully our camp is only a twenty-minute jog from the dungeon and I get there while the sun is still low in the sky. There’s already a line forming to get into the dungeon and I look to see if Sonya is there. While I don’t see Sonya, I do see a group of rough looking men in dark and dirty clothing eyeing me oddly and waiting at the entrance to the dungeon.

I’m scanning the line when I hear feel someone's breath on the back of my neck and hear someone whisper, “Hey Red Hands.”

I nearly jump out of my skin and spin around. I see Sonya holding her side while laughing. She’s dressed in her chain mail and metal breastplate. Unlike the previous times I’d seen her here at the dungeon, her hair is not in a braid or bun. Instead, it’s down and I can see the wavy curls in her hair.

“Aren’t you jumpy this morning?” Sonya says between diminishing laughs.

“Uh, you just surprised me is all. Wasn’t expecting you to sneak up on my like that. You’re pretty quiet for someone wearing metal armor.”

Sonya stops laughing and walks closer to me, then says in a sultry voice, “You have no idea the skills I have.” Then winks and takes a step back.

I can only stare dumbly as a variety of intimate visions flash through my mind. I’m brought back to reality when Sonya waves a hand in front of my face.

“Hello. You ok? You’ve been staring off into space for a minute now.”

I rub the back of my head in embarrassment. “Yeah, sorry. I’m easily distracted sometimes.”

Sonya turns her head slightly, smiles, and says. “Oh? Then I’ll have to do something to keep your attention.”

Not sure what she means by that, I’m surprised when she walks up to me and kisses me softly on my cheek and takes my arm in hers.

Oh, that’s what she means.

I can’t help but smile like an idiot at the affection she’s shown me.

“Stop smiling like that. It’s a little creepy. It’s cute but still creepy.”

“Hey, I can’t help it if your kisses make me smile like a maniac.”

I try to reign in my smile a little and ask her, “So, dungeon running on our second date? That’s an interesting choice.”

“Is it? I try to weed out the men who can’t handle a strong woman pretty quickly,” she says while smiling.

“Oh? So this date is some kind of test?” I ask half-jokingly.

She looks at me seriously for a moment. “I was taught by my father that everything in life is a test.” Then returning to her more flirty tone she continues, “But in this case, I’ll be checking out how well you deal with me killing more monsters than you.”

“I think it’s interesting that you just assume that you’ll kill more monsters than me. I bet you that I can kill more monsters than you.”

We pause our casual walk and she lets go of my arm and faces me head on. Sonya raises an eyebrow and smiles as she takes stock of me with stunning blue eyes. I hear a slight jingle of metal as she raises her chain mailed hand to her chin to mockingly judge me.

“Hmm. I don’t know. I don’t want you to pull a muscle trying to impress me. I have plans for you later Armon.”

I quirk my lips and respond in a dry tone, “I think I’ll be able to handle myself.”

Still pretending to consider the bet, Sonya purses her full lips and asks, “What do I get when I win our bet?”

I smile at the inappropriate thought that crosses my mind. However, I dismiss that one as being unlikely to be accepted. “I will be your willing servant for one whole day.”

She narrows her eyes, smiles, and says, “I thought you were going to offer something more...interesting. However, I accept your bet.”

“Wait, what do I get if I win?”

Laughing dramatically Sonya replies, “In the unlikely event that you win the bet...” She then steps right up to me and whispers in my ear, “...you get to ask me to do one thing and I have to do it.”

I can feel my face redden and she takes a step back and giggles.

Having decided to accept my challenge, Sonya claps her hands together. “Ok. I take your bet. However, we’ll have to establish some ground rules. I know you’ve beaten the first level of the dungeon. So, you get one point for every giant rat that you kill, three points for every burrower, and whoever lands the killing blow on the giant boar gets five points.”

Then looking at my clothing, she adds, “and you lose a point every time a monster hits you and you lose health. The one with the most points after we kill the boss is the winner.”

I look at her metal breastplate and chainmail and compare it to my thin clothing that only gives six defense. “Somehow I think that your armor gives you an advantage.”

She shrugs. “Hey, this is your bet.”

“Ok, then I agree to those terms mighty shieldmaiden.”

Having agreed on a fun game to add spice to our time in the dungeon the two of us walk arm in arm into the dungeon. As we walk past the guards at the entrance, one of them gives me the thumbs up sign. Guess he’s rooting for me.

Chapter 9.4

As Sonya and I enter the dungeon we separate and equip our weapons. Sonya equips her shield and longsword. I equip my spear. The tunnels dim quickly as we approach the first junction in the tunnels. I active [Darkvision] and the tunnels appear much clearer. Sonya pulls a silver amulet from beneath her breastplate and mutters a word and the amulet begins to emit a bright white light. To my enhanced vision, the tunnels appear as bright as day.

I look to my left and see a giant rat watching us. Sonya hasn’t spotted it yet since her light only lets her see about fifteen feet and my [Darkvision] lets me see for at least twenty feet. Before she notices, I run towards the rat and activate [Thrust]. My spear shoots forward, pulling me with it and kills the giant rat in a single attack.

You’ve killed a Giant Rat level 4. You receive 20 XP.

I look back at Sonya and smile, “That’s one point for me.”

She looks annoyed for a second that I got the first kill. Then smiles, walks up to me and whispers in my ear in a breathy tone, “True. However, it’s not how you start that counts but how you finish.”

I can only stand there flustered as she walks past me.

Following the left path of the first junction, we come across three more giant rats. I kill two with [Thrust] and Sonya kills the third with a swift swing of her sword.

When we reach the part of the tunnels that splits into three parts I ask Sonya, “How about we race for another point?”

She looks at me quizzically. “What do you mean?”

“The path in the middle has the boulder trap. How about we set it off and the first one to make it back down the tunnel wins?”

Sonya thinks about it for a second, then nods her assent.

We put away our weapons since we know there aren’t any monsters down this path and walk down the middle tunnel. There’s a real sense of tension as we walk since I’m not quite sure when the boulder trap will activate. I look at Sonya and see a genuine smile of excitement on her face. I can’t help but smile too.

We walk deeper and deeper down the tunnel and I’m starting to think that someone might have disarmed the trap when I hear a familiar click and the tunnel begins to rumble. Sonya and I look at each other for a second then turn and begin running back down the way we came. I hear the boulder fall from above us where it was hidden and peek behind me to see it start its final body crushing journey towards us. My eyes widen when I see the size of the thing. I’d forgotten how big it was. My lungs start to ache as I pull ahead of Sonya slightly. I see her eyes widen as she notices me move ahead of her. She smiles ferally and pumps her legs harder. I can’t help but be distracted a little as I watch various parts of her bounce as she runs, so it’s no wonder that I almost trip and fall when my toe hits a rock. Red faced, I recover my balance but I lose my lead in our race. I see the end of the tunnel ahead and can hear the boulder behind us gaining speed as it gets closer and closer. With a sense of determination, I focus and put every ounce of concentration I can muster into running as fast as I can. I’ve caught up to Sonya and think I have a chance of winning when I see a glow surround her and she shoots ahead at an incredible speed, exiting the tunnel back into the junction. A heavy rock wall descends to seal off the tunnel and I have to duck slightly as I run under it. It hits the ground with authority and the boulder slams into it only a moment later.

I ran so hard I can’t quite find the breath to speak. However, Sonya doesn’t seem to have that problem and walks up to me with only a slight glistening on her brow and a wide grin on her face. “Guess that makes it two points for me and three for you.”

I’m doubled over trying to catch my breath but look up at her and wheeze out, “...how...did...you...do...that?”

She laughs and slaps me on the back. “What? You’ve never seen someone use the [Sprint] ability before? Did you think you had that race won because I’m wearing heavy armor?”

While I’m still catching my breath, I can only stare at her with big disbelieving eyes and nod, eliciting a laugh from Sonya.

I can breathe a little better now but I sit and rest to recover my spent stamina.

Seeing my need to rest, Sonya sits down across from me and waits for me to recover. The stone tunnel is so narrow that our feet almost touch.

There’s an awkward silence while I rest until she says, “You should have seen your face when I activated [Sprint]. I thought you were going to have a heart attack from shock.”

I smile at the verbal jab. “Well, it was a surprising move. I never thought someone with such heavy looking metal armor could outrun me, much less have some ability that increased their running speed so much.”

Her smile falters a little but she answers, “I told you my dad is a retired soldier, right? He trained me in a lot of special fighting skills. After my mom died, I think it was the only way he could relate to me.”

Sensing I might have hit a sensitive subject I try to change the topic. I playfully tap her foot with mine and tell her, “Well, congratulations on winning the race. You deserve that extra point. You have any other special abilities I should know about?”

She smiles again at me and nudges my foot with hers playfully back. “Lots of ‘special’ abilities but I’m not going to tell you all of them. A girl has to keep some mysteries after all.”

I smile at the comment. Women are already the universe's biggest mystery to me. Why they need more, I’ll never understand.

I check my [Status Page] and see my stamina is all recovered and get up. I hold out my hand to help Sonya up and when she takes it there’s a small static shock. She instinctively tries to pull her hand away but I hold on tighter and pull her up. We’re only about a couple inches apart when I look into her eyes and say “I’m glad to see there’s a ‘spark’ between us.”

She blushes, then starts laughing. “That’s the cheesiest line I’ve ever heard.”

I feel a little heat radiating from my cheeks and my eyes look down. I thought it was a pretty romantic line.

Seeing that her comment embarrassed me, she quickly adds, “But that’s O.K., I like cheese.”

I look back up at her and see she’s smiling. I also notice she hasn’t let go of my hand yet.

She’s so cute when she smiles, I can’t help stare for a moment.

Sonya blushes a darker shade of red under my prolonged gaze, turns away and asks, “Sooo. How about we make this date a little more...intense?”

A few inappropriate thoughts flash through my mind and I grin. “Sure. What’d you have in mind?”

“I know we’re close to the boss and don’t want to end our date yet. So, let’s go back to that first junction in the tunnel and head to the right.”

That’s definitely not where I thought she was going when she said she wanted things to get ‘intense’. Confused, I can only say, “Wait, what?”

Sonya starts to walk back to the beginning junction, pulling me along with her. “Yeah, there’s a really intense fight if you go to the right at that first junction instead of left.”

Remembering my time on the first level with my group and the tough fight with the stream of rats I ask, “Do you mean the giant rat swarm?”

Sonya only looks back at me for a second before continuing to pull me past the first junction and responds, “Yeah, it’s one of my favorite fights on this level. It’s great training for fighting multiple enemies at once.”

Before I know it we’ve reached the rock wall I built when my group fought this giant rat swarm. I recall how tough a fight it was just because of the sheer number of giant rats we had to fight. By the end of the battle, everyone was out of mana and stamina.

“We’re here.” She says, a little excited. “Someone built this neat little wall and adventurers have been using it to mark the best place to fight the giant rats here.”

I look at the rock wall I built and notice that the mud mortar I used is crumbling in a couple places. “Yeah, my team made it when we fought here. We used it to funnel the rats into a single line so we could fight them.”

I walk up to the wall and kneel at those spots and spell write the symbols for [Mud]. I fill in any gaps in the rock wall, then spell write [Fire] over them to bake and harden the mortar. I give the wall a good kick to assure myself that it’s still solid and able to repel the rats.

Sonya watches me work and when I’m finished reinforcing the wall she says, “Your team built this and you can use magic? You keep on surprising me.”

I stand up and see that she looks a little impressed. “Yeah, one of my teachers is a mage and she taught me some spell writing.”

“Spell writing? That’s not a form of magic most people want to learn. I hear it takes a lot of practice and study. Wouldn’t it be easier to buy some spell books?”

“Yeah, but I don’t have the money to buy all the spells I’d want. Spell writing lets me create any magical effect I want as long as I can figure out the right combination of arcane symbols. Sure it takes longer to experiment and study but it fits my style.”

“What do you mean it fits your style?” Sonya asks.

I take a moment to think about how to describe what I mean. “My parents died when I was young and I had to take care of myself a lot of the time after that. I learned to depend on myself and that having the ability to handle a variety of situations was important.”

At the mention of my deceased parents, Sonya looks at me sympathetically and puts a hand on my arm.

She doesn’t say anything to interrupt me, so I continue. “I take the same approach with magic. Sure I could have scrounged for money to buy one or two spell books but nothing I can buy would have let me build this wall. With spell writing, I can do a little healing, a bit of damage, and lots of other things. Best of all, I never had to pay for a single spell.”

“So, I see how spell writing fits you, Armon. You’re resourceful, determined, and...frugal.”

I laugh at the polite choice of words. “I would have said stubborn and cheap but you’re still right. Spell writing fits my style for those reasons.”

Sonya nods and l look down the tunnel at where I know the nest of giant rats are. I shiver at the thought of the creatures rushing at me all at once, so I ask Sonya, “How did you want to fight the rat swarm? My team lured them in and funneled them into the gap at the wall so we could fight them one at a time.”

Sonya looks down the tunnel and grins. “We could do it that way or we could do it the ‘fun’ way.”

Before I can ask what the ‘fun’ way is, she walks past the wall and equips her shield and longsword. She then proceeds to bang her sword on her shield, producing a loud ringing sound. At the same time, she yells, “Come on out you mangy, dirty, rats.”

In the distance, I hear a rumbling sound of a multitude of clawed feet running towards us. Because of my [Darkvision] I can see many tiny beaded eyes coming down the tunnel before Sonya can and yell, “Here they come.”

Sonya stops banging her sword against her shield. I realize I don’t have my spear and quickly equip it. I stand at the gap in the wall ready to fight any foe that appears there. I expect Sonya to fall back and take a similar position. Instead, she spreads her feet shoulder length apart, raises her shield in front of her body, and prepares to fight the rats where she is. I don’t have time to worry about Sonya as a stream of giant hairy rats slams into her. At first, I worry that she’s being overwhelmed as rat after rat hits her raised shield. However, she doesn’t seem to be hurt. Instead, her shield glows for a moment and suddenly every rat for a foot in front of her flies back. She lowers her shield a little and I can see a wide feral grin on her face as she begins her offense. With every swing of her sword, she seems to wound or kill a giant rat. A group of three giant rats tries to attack her at once but their teeth are no match for her heavy armor. She just laughs and her sword glows white for a moment before swinging in a wide arc and killing all three rats at once.

I have no time to observe more as a few giant rats have decided that they’d rather fight me than the warrior with the shield. A group of giant rats rushes my position but thanks to the wall only one at a time is able to get through the gap we left in the middle.

I use [Thrust] to kill the first fanged creature that appears in the gap in the wall and while I pull back my spear another takes its place. Before I can skewer it on my spear it stops and turns around and rushes away from me.

I look up and see that Sonya is glowing red and that all the giant rats are rushing to attack her.

Hey. That’s not fair! She’s using a taunt skill to get all the rats to attack her.

I realize that I’m not going to get any more points for killing giant rats if I stay where I am. So I run past the wall to where Sonya is. I see her surrounded by six giant rats but she doesn’t seem very concerned. I see three furry fiends ready to jump on my date’s back and I swing my spear like a hockey stick and knock all three into the far wall.

Sonya notices my presence and the attack on the rats that were at her back. She’s covered in rat blood but still takes the time to say, “Glad you could join me. I was worried that you needed an invitation.”

I don’t respond, instead, turning so that we’re fighting back to back. I hear her attacking the rodents in front of her and I attack the ones that try to attack her from behind. I kill a few with my [Thrust] ability but try to reserve the ability for when more than one giant rat attacks at the same time.

After what seems like forever, the sounds of the battle end. No more giant rats are attacking and I look in front me. I see the bodies of six giant rats and I’m a little proud when I take a count of the number of enemies I’ve killed.

When I turn around to check on Sonya what I see shocks me. Sonya’s once polished armor and sword are covered in rat blood and she’s breathing a little heavily. In front of her though are what have to be at least twelve giant rat corpses.

I can only stare in wonder at the mighty battle prowess of my date.

Sonya turns and sees the look on my face. She looks down at her blood covered body and seems to be embarrassed. She looks at me and seems to be waiting for me to say something.

“Holy cow! You’re awesome,” is the only thing I can think to say.

The statement brings a smile to her lips and she asks, “You think I’m awesome? You’re not upset that I killed more giant rats than you?”

A little confused I answer, “What kind of asshole would be upset by that? I’m actually pretty impressed by how good you are.”

Sonya blushes at the compliment then walks up to me, kisses me on the cheek and hugs me. I’m surprised but hug her back. “What’s that for?”

Still holding me she says, “I’ve had more than a few guys get embarrassed or even angry that I was a better fighter than they were. I’m just happy you’re not one of them.”

I pull away from Sonya’s embrace and look at her. I see that she looks cute even with a bit of blood on her. I look her in the eyes and say, “Well, those guys are jerks. You’re good at what you do and if they can’t appreciate that then they don’t deserve you.”

Sonya hugs me again briefly. “You’re pretty good at what you do too.”

As the bodies of the giant rats disappear I gather any of the treasure they drop. There are only a few rat’s teeth and Sonya lets me keep it all.

Since Sonya has clearly won our bet, when we fight the Boar Boss she lets me fight it by myself. Not having come up with a new method of killing it, I jump on the back of the boar and spell write [Fire] onto it. I pour most of my mana into the spell and cook the boar from the inside out.

Sonya rolls on the floor laughing at the sight of me trying to spell write while riding a giant boar bareback. As I watch the health of the boss drop from my spell I can feel the creature heat up under me. I take a bit of damage from staying on the boar to provide mana to the spell until the burn effect takes hold. Then I jump off before I start to cook with the boar. The boss tries vainly to put out a fire it can feel but not see by slamming itself into the walls and rolling on the floor. It’s not too long until its health drops to zero and it disappears in a flash of light.

You've killed Benjamin Buttin the Giant Boar level. 5. You receive 80 XP.

I pick up the treasure the boss dropped and examine it.

Ring of Boar’s Tenacity

A ring made of bone with intricately carved symbols and runes. It features a raised image of a boar.

Effects: Once per day the wearer may activate the ring and receive ten temporary health points. The effect lasts for half an hour.

I look at the ring for a minute. This is a rare drop. Usually, the boss on this level drops a pelt or a tusk. For a moment I wonder how much I can sell the item for. Then I look at Sonya, who is clapping and cheering at my victory.

Sonya slaps me on the back and says, “Good fight Armon. That was quite the show! When you told me how you beat the giant boar, I only half believed you. Now, I think we should sell tickets so everyone can appreciate your novel methods.”

I laugh at her suggestion. “Yeah, I can start a boar riding league. People can place bets on how long a rider can stay on a wild giant boar. I just need a few more people as crazy as me.”

While she’s near I take her hand and place the treasure the boar dropped in her hand. “Here. I want you to have this.”

Looking down at the object in her hand Sonya asks, “What’s this?”

I look away, a little embarrassed I can only afford to give her a gift I got from a monster drop. “It’s something to remember our date by. The boss dropped it and I thought you’d like it. You can sell it if you don’t have any use for it.”

“Why would I sell it? This is a great present,” Sonya says. Then she takes off an expensive looking gold ring off the ring finger of her right hand and puts on the Ring of Boar’s Tenacity. She looks at it for a moment and I think I see a tiny tear in her eye. Then she hugs me tightly and I hug her back.

Since I’ve used most of my mana I have to rest for about half an hour to recover. Once I do, I heal myself and recover all the health I lost during the boss fight. While I’m at it, I heal Sonya too.

Sonya looks a little surprised when I heal her. “Well, you’re pretty useful aren’t you? You can roast a boar and heal my wounds. Tell me you wash windows and I’ll never let you go.”

“I told you I was pretty versatile,” I comment.

Having recovered, the two of us head to the door out of the boss room when I’m stopped by Sonya’s hand. I’m about to ask why we stopped when she puts a finger to her lips to silence me. She tilts her ear towards the door and I understand that she’s heard something I haven’t. I listen and after a moment hear the faint sound of someone talking.

“..sure they went in there?”

“Yeah, tracked them…”

“..are taking too long. I’ll kill’m.”

“Don’t be...wants him...”

I look at Sonya and she motions for us to back away from the door to the other side of the boss’s room.

Out of earshot of the people at the door, she says, “Did you hear what they said?”

I nod. “I could only hear part of what was said but it sounds like someone’s angry we’ve been in here so long.”

Sonya considers my words and shrugs. “I guess that could be it. I was pretty angry when you made my group wait for over an hour.”

I sense that she wants to say something else and prompt her to continue, “but...”

She looks at me for a moment before adding, “But, something seems different about whoever is waiting. I can’t put my finger on it but I don’t think we should leave through that door.”

I agree. While I don’t think there is anyone’s ass Sonya can’t kick, there’s no reason to intentionally pick a fight with a group of strangers. “We can go downstairs to the second level and use the teleportation plate there to get back to the dungeon entrance.”

Sonya nods in agreement and the two of us head down the stairs that opened up once the boss was defeated. Once on the second floor of the dungeon we use the bronze plate on the wall to teleport to the dungeon entrance.

Walking outside the dungeon I can tell by the position of the sun that more than a few hours have passed. It’s already well into the afternoon.

I hear my stomach growl. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve worked up an appetite. How about we get some lunch?”

Sonya nods in assent but seems distracted as we walk towards the food vendor’s setup outside the dungeon. I notice that she keeps scanning our surroundings.

“Is everything alright?” I ask.

“Yeah, I just have this feeling that something isn’t right.”

I want to tell her that she’s being silly but I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

Suddenly, an arrow flies past my face. Turning, I see three men with their faces covered. Two hold swords and the third holds a now empty bow. The two sword wielders charge Sonya and me. In a flash, Sonya’s sword is in her hand and she rushes to meet the attackers.

The man with the bow pulls an arrow from his quiver and places it on his bow string. Seeing him take aim at Sonya, I pull my spear from my [Inventory] and hurl it at the bowman. The bowman sees my throw and he dives to the right. My spear doesn’t hit him but it does disrupt his shot. I rush towards the man before he can shoot again and activate [Aspect of the Kobold]. The man looks on in amazement as I transform as I run towards him. By the time I’ve reached him, my scales have grown out and I look like a snoutless lizardman who’s lost his tail.

Abandoning his bow, the man pulls a small knife from his belt. I don’t have time to grab my spear from the ground. Instead, I rush the man hoping to catch him off guard. He slashes out with his knife. Without slowing down, I raise my arms to take the blow.

Damage received: 5

I feel the scales on my forearms break off as they absorb the cutting force of the knife. I don’t have time to look to see if my arms are bleeding as I crash into the man. We tumble to the ground and roll in the dirt. Each of us trying to dominate the other. The struggle ends with the man on top of me, knife pointed downward at my heart. I’m able to grab his hands around the wrist and slow the blade. However, he has the advantage and presses his weight down, forcing the blade closer and closer to me. I can almost feel the blade pierce my scaly chest when instinct prompts me to take desperate action and I bite into one of the arms holding the knife.

Damage dealt: 6

The mysterious man screams as my teeth pierce his flesh and he pulls away from me, tearing a chunk of flesh from his arm. I spit out the disgusting globule. The man scrambles backward, away from me and gets to his feet. I regain my own footing and face him unarmed. Scanning the ground quickly, I see my spear. Unfortunately, the man with the knife stands between it and me.

Thankful that Rex forced me to train in the basics of unarmed combat, I raise my fists in front of my face and spread my feet shoulder length apart. In our struggle on the ground, the man’s face covering has come off and I see that he has dark tanned skin and a thick black push broom mustache. His black beady eyes look amused facing an unarmed opponent. He smiles and I see he is missing several teeth. Then without preamble, he thrusts the knife in his right hand at my abdomen. Having practiced with the powerful Rex, the speed of the knife is nothing I can’t handle. I pivot on my left foot, bringing my body and right foot behind it. The knife misses me by mere inches and I grab the passing wrist with my right hand. Using his own momentum against him, I pull him forward and he lurches off balance. The man’s back now to me, my left arm snakes around his neck and I put him in a choke hold. Locking my left forearm against his throat with my right arm, I squeeze with all my might hoping to make him pass out quickly.

You've gained a level in [Unarmed Combat]. Novice 2.

At first, the man panics when he can’t breathe. However, after a few seconds, he remembers he still has his knife and starts to try to stab me. Thankfully I’m behind him and it’s difficult for him to reach most of me. Unfortunately, he can reach the arm choking him and he stabs that.

Damage received: 6

Damage received: 4

The scales on my arms protect me a little but it hurts every time the blade pierces my arm. Still, I grit my teeth and press my arm tighter against his throat. After a few more seconds of struggle, the man’s stabs become weak and ineffective and he starts to sag. Soon, the entire body becomes dead weight as he loses consciousness. I continue to do my choke hold for another few seconds to make sure he isn’t feigning unconsciousness. When I let go, his body falls to the ground and I can hear his breath coming is rasping inhales.

I look for my weapon on the ground but instead see a man in dark leather armor holding my spear. He’s six paces away but I know that my spear can reach that far. The man holds my weapon like he knows how to use it and I’m suddenly aware that I barely won a fight with someone using a knife. I ready myself for another hard fight and take my fighting stance. The man points my spear at me and it begins to glow as he activates a special ability. However, before he can finish activating it, he stiffens and the glow around the weapon vanishes. I see a familiar reptilian figure appear from behind the man wielding his short sword and realize that Vrax must have backstabbed the weapon stealing asshole and interrupted his ability. The man in the dark armor is not distracted for long though and spins to face both Vrax and me. I still don’t have a weapon but I know I can count on my friend. Before Vrax or I can attack, I hear a low growl and all three of us look to see a large grey wolf hurl itself at the man knocking him onto his back. I can hear the tearing and ripping sounds as the wolf gets his jaws around the man’s throat and ends his life.

A voice above me yells out, “You get him Mr. Snuggle Butt! Show him what happens to people that hurt our friends.”

Looking up I see Mary flying towards her wolf, her fist raised in triumph.

“Holy shit, am I glad to see you two.” Then noticing the bloody jawed wolf looking at me, I amend, “I mean three. Where’d you come from?”

“We read the note you scratched for us at camp. Mary said it would be fun to tease you while you were on your date.” Vrax informs me.

Glaring slightly at Vrax, Mary adds, “Yeah, it would have been. But when we got here we saw these ass hats attacking you. Who are they?”

Instead of answering I suddenly remember I wasn’t the only one attacked and look around for Sonya. I see her standing over her two dead opponents. She’s holding her side where a lucky strike must have gotten past her armor.  Beyond her I see the dungeon guards standing over two more dead masked men.

I rush to Sonya to heal her but she raises her sword at my approach, a look of unrecognition on her face. I’m confused for a moment until I remember that I have [Aspect of the Kobold] active. Once I deactivate it, the point of her sword drops to the ground and a look of slight surprise appears.

I approach slowly, bend one knee to kneel next to her and write the [Heal] spell over her injured side. She hisses as the spell takes effect and knits her flesh back into one piece. Her expression relaxes once the spell has done its job. I can’t do anything to repair the rent in her breastplate but she’s not bleeding anymore.

I look up from my kneeling position and see that there are flecks of blood on her face and armor but I’m not sure if any of it is hers.

With a slight tremor in my voice, I ask Sonya, “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

Sonya must have seen the concern I felt because her expression changes to one of consolement. Her hands cup my face and she says, “No. Don’t look so worried. The bastards only got one good strike and you’ve fixed that.”

I sigh in relief and she continues, “Get off your knee or people will think you’re proposing. Not that I’d say no to my dashing hero.”

A different kind of panic sets in suddenly.

Proposing? It’s only our second date. I really do like her though. I’ve never had such a strong connection with another person. Would it really be so bad? The honeymoon would be fun…

Sonya’s voice interrupts my thoughts, “I was just kidding. Calm down.”

With another sense of relief, I stand up and hug her. She must really be ok if she can joke like that. I feel her hug me back and am a little surprised by the intense feeling of happiness that passes through me. I look into Sonya’s deep blue eyes and lean in to kiss her. Before our lips touch, I hear a loud deliberate cough behind me. With great regret, I let go of Sonya and I turn to see Mary, Vrax, and Mr. Snuggle Butt.

“Before you two get all X-rated, I’d like to know who these people that attacked you are,” Mary says while hovering above Vrax.

Behind Mary and Vrax I see a group of guards and several merchants, including Edward the halfling vendor. Everyone looks like they’d like to know why a group of masked men attacked Sonya and me.

I shrug and answer honestly, “I have no idea why these guys attacked us. However, I know who we can ask.”

I point to the unmasked man I defeated, still unconscious on the ground. The other masked attackers, having been killed, disappear in a flash of light. They leave their armor, weapons, and a small bag of loot behind.

I direct Vrax to search the bags of loot from the enemies Sonya killed for clues and suggest the guards to the same for the ones they killed.

I ask Edward for some rope and he produces it without complaint or asking for payment, likely still in shock from the attack. I bind the wrists and feet of the unconscious mustachioed attacker before waking him with a hard slap.

He blinks hard as he wakes, momentarily confused. He sees me looking down on him and his face contorts in anger and he tries to attack me but just falls over. Realizing his wrists and feet are bound he rights himself and hangs his head in defeat.

“Just kill me and be done with it.” The mustachioed man says in a thick accent.

Kneeling so that I’m eye level with the man sitting on the ground I say, “Why would I kill you? More importantly, why did you try to kill Sonya?”

A momentary look of confusion passes over the man’s face, then he smiles wickedly, “Sonya? Oh, the lady warrior. My master doesn’t care about her. We only needed to kill her to get to you.”

Now it’s my turn to feel confused. Who would know about me, much less want me?

“Who is your master and why do you want me?”

The man lowers his face and refuses to answer.

Slapping him, I yell, “Answer me dammit.”

The bound man doesn’t answer, instead, he closes his eyes and tilts his head as if listening to a whisper. Sweat breaks out on his forehead and fear contorts the man’s face. He shakes his head and speaks to a voice only he can hear, “No. No. No, master. I didn’t tell them anything. Please forgive me.”

I stand and move back from the man, unsure what’s happening.

A green glow appears under the man’s clothing near his collarbone. The man screams in pain and tries to grab at his chest with his bound hands. The green glow spreads over his entire body and he falls on his side. His eyes roll back and foam leaks from the corner of his mouth as he convulses in pain. The green magical energy twists the man’s body at unnatural angles and I hear bones snap. The mustachioed man gives one last piercing scream of pain, then goes silent as his body collapses lifeless.

You’ve helped kill Imperare Empire Scout level. 6. You receive 20 XP.

I stare in open mouthed horror at the body of my attacker and the notification. Never in my life have I wanted to give back experience points more.

I tear my gaze from the broken twisted form before me and see that everyone else is just as horrified as I am. I see the merchant Edward turned away from the body and hear him heaving. More than a few of the merchants look green in gills. Even Sonya looks surprised by what happened.

“What in hell was that?” I ask in a hushed whisper.

No one answers. I look at Mary, the most knowledgeable person I know and ask again, “What was that Mary?”

She looks at me with fear in her eyes, gulps, and answers, “Blood magic. Only a powerful mage using blood magic could kill him like that. The guy who attacked you would have had to voluntarily bind himself in a magical ceremony to the blood mage.”

I feel dizzy from the implications that Mary’s information reveals. A powerful blood mage wants me? But why?

The body of the mustachioed man disappears in a flash of light leaving bloody clothing and the rope we used to bind him with on the ground.

Vrax returns from his inspection of the items the killed attackers left and hands me a piece of paper.

Find the agent of chaos. Our informant tells us he may be hiding in Restrian village. We’ve arranged for you to travel with the Imperare Empire regiment attacking the village.

He’s described by our informant as being five foot seven inches, black hair, and medium build. He consorts with kobolds and other non-humans. Take him alive.

The master does not tolerate failure.

My stomach drops. These guys were looking for me. But why?

I look up and see the guards returning from their own search of things left behind by the attackers and remember what the note said.

I approach one of the guards. He’s older with greying hair, a thick grey beard, and a slight paunch. “Sir, there’s going to be an attack on Restrian.”

The guard shakes his head and points behind me to the south and says, “No son. There’s already an attack.”

Turning, I see a column of thick black smoke above the tree line coming from the direction of Restrian.

Chapter 10.1

Vrax, Mary, Sonya and I run south through the woods towards Restrian. The four guards stationed at the dungeon follow behind us, slowed down by the weight of their chainmail armor. Vrax leads my group through the forest since he’s the fastest and has the most sensitive senses. No one speaks, fearful of alerting any other enemies that may lie in wait for us.

The further we move south, the bigger the plume of dark smoke gets. The smell of burning wood is thick in the air. The forest is unusually quiet as we pass through it and that may be what saved us. Only a moment later, Vrax comes to a stop and signals for us to do the same.

“What is it?” I whisper to my scaly friend.

“I hear something ahead,” he replies quietly.

I strain my hearing and soon hear the sounds of hoof beats. I signal for everyone to hide.

Mary flies into the tree branches above us. Vrax hides behind a series of large rocks. Sonya and I hide behind some bushes and the guards duck behind a large fallen tree.

From the south, the sound of clattering hooves grows louder. Peeking through the bush I’m hiding behind, I see four horsemen riding at a walk. They are followed by ten foot soldiers carrying spears and small shields. The foot soldiers all wear studded leather armor dyed black. The men on horse sport chainmail armor and have long swords strapped to their horse's saddles.

As they pass, I hear them talking, “Worthless monster lovers barely put up a fight. Once the gates fell they surrendered quickly enough. Now we just have to secure the dungeon and the surrounding area.”

“Did you see the faces of the beast men when the slave masters collared them? They looked like a dog I had once. Had to teach him who was boss too.” One of the men says, pantomiming choking with his hands.

The men on horse laugh as their horses trot north towards the dungeon.

Thinking about the adventurers we left, I consider attacking the group but don’t think the eight of us could win a fight with fourteen trained soldiers. Especially when they have cavalry. Instead, once the soldiers pass out of sight, I take out my message tablet. I write a message to Edward the halfling merchant, warning him and the others we left at the dungeon to flee. I get a brief response back.

Thanks for the warning but I and anyone else not human have already fled north. We’ve heard what the Imperare does to anyone that’s not human. A few of the other human merchants have stayed to misdirect anyone asking about ‘monsters’ in the area. I can only pray no one tells them where we really went. I suggest you and your friends leave as well. The Imperare treats “monster lovers” as poorly as they do monsters.

Edward

With a sigh of relief, I put the message tablet back in my inventory and let the group with me know that non-humans have already left the dungeon.

Vrax’s tail whips back on forth over the ground and he rubs his clawed hands together. He appears quite agitated by what the men on horse said.

“You OK Vrax?” I ask him.

“No. No. I hear them say ‘Slave Master’. You know what elder Xichion said about slavers. We escaped them and now they’ve come back for us.”

I kneel down and place my red hands on my friend’s red dusky scaled fists. The sight of both our hands, almost the same color, on top of each other seems to calm him down a little. “No brood brother. The Imperare didn’t come here because of the kobolds. Lilliandra told us that they’ve been raiding along the border for a while now. This is bigger than our tribe but that doesn’t mean we can sit here and do nothing.”

Talking now to the entire group, I continue, “Let’s continue on towards Restrian, it should only by a few more minutes till we clear the forest and can see the village.”

No one challenges my suggestion and we start moving again south.

After only five more minutes of running, the forest starts to thin out and we get our first glimpse of Restrian.

The village, with its ten-foot tall wall made of sharpened logs, is mostly intact. However, the north gate is gone and you can see scorch marks where it was blown off somehow. Some of the smoke we saw earlier is coming from the destroyed gate but most of it seems to be streaming from a few fires within the village itself. The wall blocks my view of exactly where the fires are coming from and I can only hope my friends inside the village are ok.

Dozens of soldiers stream in and out of the village. There are a small number of soldiers on horseback but most of them seem to be foot soldiers. There’s a small group of men wearing long robes of either red or white. There is already work being done to set up tents outside the walls of the village and a picket line for the horses.

As we watch, a wooden wagon drawn by large oxen exits the village.  Vrax, with his superior vision, gasps. It takes a few moments to recognize what startled him. In the back of the open topped wagon are people. These aren’t soldiers but citizens of Restrian. While I can’t see the faces of anyone in particular, I can see that they are chained with neck and hand restraints. Most of the people in this wagon aren’t human. The wagon exits the northern gate of Restrian and heads west out of sight through the forest, followed by a contingent of six soldiers on foot.

One of the dungeon guards whispers in a crestfallen voice, “We’re too late. Restrian has already fallen.”

I turn to see most of the guards looking dejectedly at the sight of their village overrun by Imperare soldiers.

Speaking to everyone, I say, “The village has fallen but we can still do something to help the villagers. Everyone saw the wagon with people in chains? I think we can free them. There were only six soldiers guarding the wagon and they’re all on foot. If we can get ahead of them we should be able to kill the soldiers and free the villagers.”

The opportunity to help seems to put some hope back in the eyes of most of the guards. Sonya, Vrax and Mary all nod in agreement at the suggestion. Vrax especially seems eager to do something.

The older guard with the grey hair speaks up, “The road they’ve taken will pass through the forest and into the farms that feed the village. Past that is only open land leading through the mountain passes.”

“Then we’ll have to catch them in the forest or near the farms,” Sonya says. Then squatting on the ground, she draws in the dirt with her finger. “We can travel along the forest line west then cut south along their path.”

Looking at the guards she asks, “Is there anywhere along the road that would be a good place to ambush them?”

The skinny guard answers, “Yeah, near old farmer Fred’s place. The corn there grows pretty high. When I was younger, me and my brothers would play hide and sneak there. You could hide a whole army there and you wouldn’t see it from the road.”

Sonya nods at the information. “Then that’s where we’ll ambush them. If we travel light, we shouldn’t have a problem getting ahead of them on foot.”

Turning to the guards she continues, “That means you’ll have to leave your chainmail shirts here. Running with those will drain your stamina too quickly and we can’t wait for you to recover it every few minutes.”

The four guards grumble but take off their chainmail. They have padded shirts underneath but look uncomfortable at their lack of armor.

A guard with a dark brown beard looks at Sonya’s breastplate and chainmail armor and complains, “Hey, why don’t you have to take off your armor? It’s heavier than ours.”

Sonya looks at the guard with narrowed eyes and in an even tone that suggests she’s had to explain this to men before, says, “Because I’ve been training in armor since I could walk. I have the [Heavy Armor], [Athletics], [Running], and [Pack Mule] skills raised to intermediate. The combination of those skills lets me run in heavy armor like it was light armor. I can literally run circles around you in my armor for an hour and still have enough stamina to fight. Can you do the same?”

The guard with the brown beard looks stunned at the statement. Gary, the older guard, slaps him on the back of the head. “Watch your manners, Luis. That’s Sonya. She’s the toughest adventurer around here. We told you what she did to those men that challenged her to a duel.”

The color drains from Luis’ face as he realizes whom he was questioning. He lowers his eyes and stutters an apology. “Sorry, miss. Didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Please don’t take offense Miss Sonya. Luis is new to the guard. He’ll follow your orders just like the rest of us,” Gary assures her.

Sonya, seemingly mollified, turns to me and asks, “The plan seem ok to you Armon?”

I nod, a bit surprised by how powerful Sonya’s reputation is.

Our plans made, the eight of us move out to rescue the villagers in the wagon.

Chapter 10.2

We move along the forest tree line until we come to the farms west of Restrian. We jump over fences, cut through pastures, and cross fields until we come to the corn fields that marks the beginning of farmer Fred’s property. I can see Vrax’s tail swishing in agitation at the memory of his last interaction with Fred.

“Relax Vrax. We’re here to save the villagers. Focus on that and not the past,” I tell him.

Vrax looks up at me and nods. His dark red tail becoming still.

Mary flies up to me and says, “The guards looks pretty tired from the run. I don’t know how much use they’re going to be if they don’t have enough stamina to fight.”

I pull up my status screen and see that my own stamina is only a third depleted. Guess all that training with Rex helped.

I invite Mary, Vrax, and Sonya into a group through my status screen. They accept and three small icons appear in the top left corner of my vision. Focusing on each icon shows the health, stamina, and mana bars for my group members. Checking the stamina bars for each, I find that mine is the lowest.

We can’t have anyone run out of stamina in the upcoming fight, so I take my last stamina potion from my inventory and give it to the four dungeon guards. They’ll have to split the potion and it won’t recover all of their stamina, but it should help.

The eight of us slowly move through the corn field of farmer Fred, until we reach the road. Vrax peeks through the tall corn stalks and looks down the road to make sure no one is coming. Seeing no one, he sneaks into the middle of the dirt road and examines it closely. He peers carefully at the dirt and even puts his head to the ground to smell the area.

Satisfied with his examination, he returns. “No one has passed this way in a while.”

Sonya responds, “Good. We’ve beat them here. The corn fields line both parts of the road here. We should split up into two groups. The dungeon guards on the other side of the road and everyone else on this side. When the wagon and soldiers pass by, we’ll catch them between us both.”

The dungeon guards look to Gary for leadership and direction. “Don’t look at me with those worried faces men. We outnumber the bastards that have our villagers and have the element of surprise. Listen to the lady and we’ll be fine. Now get moving.”

Three of the guards move across the dirt road and disappear behind the tall corn stalks. I hold Gary back for a moment, “My team will lead the attack, Gary. We’ll be responsible for stopping the wagon. When we attack, you and your men rush into the soldiers following the wagon. We’ll get the ones on our side. Don’t hold anything back when you attack. We need to kill these guys quickly. We can’t let any of them escape to report back.”

Gary nods in understanding, “We’ll do our part. You just stop that wagon driver.” Then he walks across the road to join his men.

Turning to my team, I look at each one of them sizing up their possible roles. “Ok. Here’s the game plan team. We need to take out the wagon driver. Otherwise, he’ll just bolt with the chained up villagers. Vrax, remember how we took down that thorn shooter? We’ll do the same thing here. That’ll be our opening salvo. You’ll be responsible for killing the driver and keeping the oxen from bolting.”

Vrax yips in acknowledgment. He takes out his short sword and tests its sharpness.

I turn to our redheaded tank and continue, “Sonya you’re our best fighter. After our opening shot, you lead the charge against the soldiers on our side of the road. I’ll support you with my spear.”

Wings humming, Mary hovers in front of me and asks, “What about me?”

I look up at Mary. “You have the most important role, Mary. You’ll be supporting both of our groups with ranged magic. You’ll also have to keep an eye out for anyone trying to escape.”

Mary gives me a thumbs up and we all wait for the wagon to appear.

Anticipation fills the air as we wait. A drop of sweat rolls down my neck as the sun beats down.  A cool breeze passes through the field and the corn stalks sway like the waves of the ocean.

My observations are interrupted when Vrax yips quietly and motions that he can hear a wagon coming. I signal Mary to fly above the corn stalks to confirm it’s the wagon with the villagers. She zips up, just above the corn and gives me the thumbs up sign.

I take my spear from my [Inventory] and lay it down at my feet. I look at Vrax and he nods and readies his short sword. I grab Vrax by his sword belt and whisper to him. “Remember the battle cry I taught you.”

As the first ox passes by our position, I see the wagon driver. Picking Vrax up by his sword belt, I hurl him at the driver.

As Vrax flies through the air, sword ready to kill, he yells in his high reptilian voice. “FASTBALL SPECIAL BITCHES!”

Vrax deals damage: 14 (Sneak Attack)

I only have time to see Vrax slam into the driver before I’m bending down to pick up my spear and charging into the soldiers following the wagon.

As I exit the corn stalks I see that the dungeon guards have already engaged three of the soldiers and that Sonya is taking on the other three all by herself. She uses her shield to block their strikes and counters when possible. Three bolts of purple energy hit the guard to her left and he staggers for a moment and Sonya’s sword darts out to stab him quickly before covering herself with her shield again.

Mary deals damage: 4

Mary deals damage: 6

Mary deals damage: 3

Sonya deals damage: 8

I dismiss the damage notifications and attack the injured soldier with my spear and use [Thrust]. My spear shoots forward with extra speed and pierces the studded leather armor of the soldier.

Damage dealt: 12

The soldier I attack turns from Sonya and faces off against me. He wields a two-handed axe with a blade larger than my head. He grins maliciously at me then his feet and shoulders glow white for a moment. He rushes forwards in a sudden burst of speed, bowling into me with his shoulder and knocking me down.

Damage received: 10 (Charge)

I lay there dazed for a moment. When my vision clears I see him standing over me, axe raised above his head, smiling.

Even knowing that I probably can’t dodge the blade, I prepare myself to try. Yet mysteriously, instead of chopping down at my prone figure, he turns and attacks Sonya.

From the ground, I see that Sonya’s whole body glows red as she activates her [Taunt] ability, forcing all the soldiers to attack her. Not only are the three soldiers on our side trying to attack her but the soldiers the dungeon guards face also try to get to her. Facing six opponents, Sonya takes a defensive stance. Her shield held high to protect her body. The shield takes blow after blow from axe, sword, and even spear. Only one attack seems to get past her guard but even that skitters off her metal breastplate.

The dungeon guards take advantage of their opponents being forced to face Sonya and attack the soldiers from behind, gaining a sneak attack bonus to the damage they cause. I hear the sounds of swords and spears piercing leather armor and see three bodies, in black leather, drop to the ground dead.

Taking my cue from the dungeon guards I use [Thrust] from the ground to pierce the injured soldier with the two handed axe in the back as he tries to break through Sonya’s defense. I feel the blade of my spear pierce his armor and slide under his ribs tearing through organs.

Damage dealt:  22 (sneak attack)

The guard drops his axe, gasps, clutches his stomach, and then falls to the ground dead.

You’ve helped kill Imperare Empire Soldier, level. 6. You gain 15 XP.

With their comrades dead, the last two guards try to make a break for it. One turns away from Sonya and runs right into the dungeon guards. He doesn’t get more than two steps when the guards cut him down. The other soldier runs back down the road. Sonya, having defended herself from six enemies at once is low on stamina and doesn’t catch him before he gets out of her reach.

From my position on the ground, I see the soldier run down the road out of sight. I get to my feet, intending to chase the soldier down but a magical green light flies from the hands of Mary. I hear a loud yell and the sound of someone falling to the ground. Before I can take another two steps, a large furred form races past me. I hear screaming, then a gurgling sound.

Your group killed Imperare Empire Soldier, level. 6. You gain 15 XP.

By the time I make it down the road it’s over for the last soldier. I see the Imperare Soldier on the ground, his legs are wrapped in thick vines that sprouted from the ground. Mr. Snuggle Butt stands over the last soldier, blood dripping from his jaws.

Mary flies over to the wolf and starts to pet and praise him in a high pitched voice, “Who’s a good man killer? Who’s a good man killer? You, Mr. Snuggle Butt, that’s who.”

The large grey wolf sits and wags his tail as Mary pets his bloody head.

Shaking my head, I murmur, “People and their pets.”

Looking over the battle scene, I see that the driver and all the soldiers that accompanied the wagon are dead. I look over my notifications and see that I missed one.

Your group killed Imperare Empire Wagon Driver, level. 4. You gain 7 XP.

That’s three for my group. Guess the dungeon guards killed the other soldiers.

Walking back to the wagon, I see Vrax unlocking the chains binding the villagers with a key he likely got from either the driver or one of the dead soldiers. The dungeon guards help each villager out of the wagon as they’re unchained.

Each person that steps off the wagon looks beat to hell. Many limp and one beastman has to be carried off by two other villagers.

Exiting the wagon is a familiar figure green figure rubbing her wrists. Her long ears sag sadly and her face is bruised. One eye is swollen shut and she cradles one of her short arms to her body.

“Dyblex? They got you?” I ask her.

Looking up at me in surprise. The hunched figure straightens and runs at me. For a moment I think she’s going to attack me but instead, tackles and hugs me.

“You came for me. I knew you would save us. I told the others that not all humans hate us.” A muffled Dyblex cries as she holds on to me.

Looking at the group of freed villagers, I see bruised, resentful faces.

Why are they angry? Don’t they know we just saved them?

Pulling Dyblex away from the others I ask her for details about what happened in Restrian.

With an occasional sniffle from the goblin, she tells me her account of what happened.

She’d risen early this morning to start a new project. She wanted to use arcane spell writing to augment gauntlets with spell effects. About mid-morning she finished preparing a pair of specially treated gauntlets to accept mana. Before she could inscribe an arcane rune she’d purchased from a contact she had in the adventurer's guild, a great noisy ringing started to echo through the shop.

Recognizing the alarm bells for the village, she quickly dropped her project, picked up her best daggers and ran for the message board, where the bell was. By the time she ran across the village, most of the town was in a state of panic.

People were gathered in groups of two or three talking and gesturing frantically.

The twenty or so guards the village employed were formed up in front of the village gates and there were two or three others that were lying on stretchers being treated by Allison the alchemist or adventurers with healing magic.

Before she could ask anyone what was happening, a loud voice from outside the city gates demanded we open the gates and welcome liberation by the Imperare Empire. The voice promised prosperity for humans and an end to the degenerative influence of the monster races.

Everyone gathered had heard of the Imperare Empire. They were a nation founded on the idea that humans should rule over all lesser species. They enslaved any creature they considered a ‘monster race’, which in practice meant anyone not human.

The mayor gathered the village council to discuss their options but before anyone could decide anything a loud boom shook the village gates. The guards manning the walls reported that a group of robed men were chanting and flinging fireballs at the gate. Every time a fireball hit the gates, it cracked and burned. Our gate was only meant to keep out bandits and roaming monsters. Not an army or siege mages. Soon, the gates broke down and the Imperare Empire soldiers came pouring through.

The soldiers that came spread out through town. They pulled men and women from their homes and interrogated them. They asked where the ‘monsters’ in the village lived and I’m saddened to say that a few Restrians gladly pointed out the homes or places of business of the non-human villagers.

Any home or business that was owned by a non-human was set on fire and destroyed. After making every non-human villager watch their property burn they were herded into groups in the center of town.

Dyblex sobs and continues, “My forge...my home, was burnt to the ground. I’d worked so hard to make a place for myself here and that damn farmer Fred gleefully pointed it out for the soldiers to burn.”

“Wait, farmer Fred? He helped the Imperare soldiers? Why?” I asked.

A woman with three eyes answers, “Oh, he’s always had a dislike for anyone not human. When he first bought his farm he tried to sell his produce to humans for one price and to non-humans for a higher one. Village council put a stop to that quickly enough.”

A blond elf with a cut on his forehead added, “Yes, but he has been angrier lately. He said that he had been robbed by kobolds and that no one in the village wanted to lift one finger to kill the thieves because they were too afraid to offend the other non-humans.”

Dyblex continued, “After the soldiers burnt our homes they rounded up anyone that wasn’t human, chained us up, and loaded us up onto wagons like this one.” She kicks the wagon in disgust. “Said we were the property of the Empire now.”

The group mutters angrily, remembering the words.

“What will you do about the other wagons?” The woman with three eyes asks me.

“Wait. What do you mean ‘other wagons’? We only saw this one leave the northern gate.” I respond.

The woman closes two of her eyes, the third one in her forehead continuing to stare at me, “No, we were just the last group to be taken out of the village. Two other wagons left out of the southern gate.”

The injured beastman breaks into the conversation with a cough, “I heard the wagon drivers talking to one of the soldiers. They said we were supposed to meet up with another group that had already been sent to take care of some thieving monsters in the area.”

Worry floods my mind. What if farmer Fred told the Imperare Empire where the kobold tribe was? Would they really go out of their way to attack them?

“They like kobold slaves Armon. I told you they’d come for us.” a voice hissed.

Looking down I see Vrax as worried looking as I’d ever seen him. I make a decision and clear my throat to address everyone present.

“Ok. Listen up.”  All eyes turn to look at me.

“Restrian has fallen to the Imperare Empire. Even if we wanted to, those of us here cannot take it back. Most of those present aren’t even fighters and if you’re caught and you're not human it’s likely the slave block for you. Someone needs to get word to the King that the Imperare Empire has taken over Restrian. I suggest that you each take what weapons and supplies that you can from the soldiers we killed and leave. Head to the nearest town or village and get the word out about what happened here. Farmer Fred’s house isn’t that far from here. Take whatever food supplies he has. If you have any qualms about stealing, think of it as compensation for your lost homes and businesses.”

I turn from the group and motion for Mary to join Vrax and I but a voice calls out. “What about you? You saved us. Won’t you come with us?”

Turning back to them I answer, “No, I think Fred may have pointed out some family of mine that the Empire is going after and I have to check on them.”

“Then who’ll protect us? We’re not fighters!” Another voice called.

A green hand tugs on my shirt, “Please, don’t leave us. Don’t leave me.”

I look down and see Dyblex holding onto my shirt and looking down. I’d never thought to see her in this state. She’s always been so fierce.

I kneel down to hold her briefly, “I can’t come with you. The Imperare soldiers may be going after my family. I have to warn them too.”

“I’ll guard you!” Sonya cries above the sound of worried villagers. Sounds of relief are evident. Sonya is well known as a strong fighter.

“Are you sure?” I ask her.

“Yes. I couldn’t leave these people. More soldiers will come looking for them when the wagon doesn’t show up where it should. I’ll take the dungeon guards and escort them to Secundum. We’ll have to stay off the main road but it should only take us a couple of weeks.” Sonya responds.

Kissing Sonya on the cheek I whisper to her. “Thank you for helping them. I have to warn the kobold tribe but I’ll catch up with you. I should only be a few hours behind you.”

Sonya grabs my shirt and kisses me fiercely. I’m a little dazed when she lets me come up for air. Still close she whispers back, “Be safe. Don’t think I’m going to let you get out of fulfilling your part of our bet. I expect you to be my willing slave for a whole day. Ok?”

Dazed by the passionate kiss, I can only nod in bliss.

I’m snapped back to reality by a swift snap of Vrax’s tail on my butt. I look down, a little angry, but then see his worried face and remember the possible trouble our tribe might be facing.

I nod to him and Mary and we take off at a run towards the kobold tribe.

Chapter 10.3

From farmer Fred’s we cut through fields and pastures until we reach the forest to the north. Even from here it will still be a few hours before we can reach the kobold tribe.

Vrax has the highest dexterity and constitution of the group and is able to run the longest without resting. He paces anxiously every time Mary and I have to stop and rest to recover our stamina. As we near the part of the forest near the kobold tribe’s tunnels the forest thickens and what little light remains is blocked by the thick foliage above. Vrax and I activate [Darkvision] but Mary has to hold onto my shoulder because she can’t see well enough to follow us anymore. Vrax takes the lead here since he knows this part of the forest better. We hear nocturnal predators hunting as we pass through the forest but none attack us. Perhaps they sense the urgency of our task.

Moving forward we see signs of a large group passing through. There are hoof and boot marks that lead in the direction of the tunnels.  As we get closer to kobold tunnels signs of battle appear. The ground is disturbed from boots and broken spears and arrows litter the ground. Vrax and I pick up the pace.

When we reach the kobold tunnels there is evidence of battle everywhere. There is blood on the ground, the earth is torn up, and most telling are the piles of equipment and clothing. Since bodies disappear after dying, they leave loot bags and any equipment and weapons they had. Looking around I see mostly kobold spears, but there are also weapons and armor from Imperare Empire soldiers. The kobolds put up a good fight. Since the bodies have already gone, that means this fight ended hours ago.

Vrax runs into the tunnels and I follow. I can feel Mary clinging to my shoulder. I ask her to cast [Light] so we can see better in the tunnels. She complies without comment. Vrax has already run ahead looking through the rooms for other kobolds. As I pass through the tunnels I see that all the coverings to the private rooms are ripped off. Peeking into the rooms I see overturned tables, broken plates, and torn bedding. It looks like someone ransacked every room for valuables and hiding kobolds.

I hear a scream and run towards the sound. I see what’s left of the elder of the tribe, Xichion. From the weapon marks and equipment left, he killed at least three Imperare Empire soldiers before he died.

In the back of the deepest tunnel, I see Vrax screaming and backing away from the entryway to a room I’ve never seen before. As I approach, Vrax continues to yell and his clawed hands grasp his snout and partially cover his eyes like he wants to unsee something.

I approach the entryway to the room Vrax came out of and see a heavy wooden door hanging off its hinges. It’s the only real door I’ve ever seen in the tunnels. This room must be been very important to the kobolds. I walk into the room, expecting to see a treasure chest or stacks of gold coins. Instead, I see leaves, hay, and cloth piled ankle high. I don’t understand what I’m seeing until I hear Mary gasp, “Oh, no. It’s their nest.”

With new eyes, I look around the room again and see the piles of hay and leaves differently. They are mound shaped and when I get closer I can see bits of broken shell everywhere. The people that came here must have thought this was a treasure room like I did. They must have been angry when they found out it wasn’t and took that anger out on the helpless kobold eggs here. Even with Mary’s help, I can’t find a single intact egg. They destroyed them all.

I leave the room in a state of shock. What kind of people would do such a cruel thing? Why would anyone harm helpless eggs?

Vrax is sobbing in a corner of the tunnel. More than seeing his dead tribesman this has affected him the most. He’s emphasized time and again the closeness of the tribe. He even refers to his relationship with me as a brood brother. That should have told me how important the tribe’s children are to them. Mary flies over to Vrax and hugs him with her small arms and cries with him. I can only kneel before him and put my hand on his shoulder.

When he feels my hand he looks up and I can’t help but shed tears of my own at the agonized look on his face. He grabs my shirt and pulls me close and growls. I try to put my arm around him thinking he needs comfort. Instead, he pushes my arm away and hisses. His sorrow has transformed into anger.

“This our fault. We not here to protect the tribe! Instead, we were training and pretending to be adventurers fighting in the dungeon.” He starts hitting himself on the head and yelling, “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

I have to grab his hands to stop him from hurting himself.

“No Vrax. This isn’t your or Armon’s fault. The slavers did this! They did all this!” Mary tells him and gestures to the hatchery.

Vrax grabs me again and I almost flinch at the intensity in his eyes. “We find them! You and me all that’s left. We must find the ones they took and get them back.”

I can’t deny the burning anger that builds within me. These soldiers came and hurt people that made me a part of their tribe. They killed the elder and the warriors and took all the others. They even murdered the innocent because they were angry there wasn’t more treasure for them to loot.

“Yes, my brother. We will find the slavers and rescue our tribesmen.” I tell Vrax. Then I whisper so deadly and menacing that Mary has to look away, I say, “Then we’ll make them pay for every life they’ve taken and drop of blood spilt. This I swear to any god who’s listening.”

The gods are watching you and have accepted your promise. If you fail to fulfill your promise you forfeit your life. Have a nice day.

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This ends Book One in the Adventures on Terra series.

From the Author

Thanks for reading Adventures on Terra: Beginning. It’s taken me a long time to write and edit the story. I hope you enjoyed it!

If you liked this story you might like others in the LitRPG genre. For a list of recommended LitRPG books, you can visit http://www.geekbytespodcast.com/lit-rpg-novels/

You can also watch or listen to my podcast about LitRPG here: http://www.geekbytespodcast.com/litrpg-podcast-01/

There is also a great community of LitRPG authors and readers of Facebook.

LitRPG Facebook Group

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Special thanks to everyone that helped Beta read and point out errors in the story. You all made this a less frustrating read.