Shade's First Rule

by A F Kay

  “I knew what you meant,” Ruwen said weakly.

  Hamma laughed. “Right, don’t die. That is a good plan. My advice is to pick up a craft or a profession you like and level that way. Crafting experience will be slow since you aren’t a Merchant Class, but it’ll be safe. Where do you live?”

  The last question caught him off guard. “South-side. By Aspen Park.”

  “Oh, nice area. Maybe I misjudged you. I usually don’t like rich boys.”

  “We’re not rich. Smallest house on the farthest edge. My parents moved there for the schools. Wanted to give me a chance. They did a lot of adventuring to pay for it.”

  Ruwen hung his head. “And look what it got them,” he said quietly. “They’re gone, maybe in danger, and their son is a Worker. I’m a complete failure.”

  Hamma turned and brought Ruwen’s head up with a finger. “Listen, dummy, life is what you make of it. Feeling sorry for yourself is a recipe for misery. You got screwed by the high priest. The only way he wins is if you’re unhappy. So, don’t let him win.”

  Ruwen swallowed hard and then nodded. Her brown eyes had flecks of gold, like tiny suns, and her intensity melted his sadness. His chest warmed, and he gave a small smile.

  “Thanks. Yeah, I won’t,” Ruwen said.

  “Now, make your Inspection private. We’re trying to get you out of here unnoticed.”

  Ruwen opened his preferences and set Inspection to private. His name wouldn’t appear over his head, and only basic information would be visible to inspection. A person would need a decent Perception skill to get information about him now.

  Hamma frowned as she looked him up and down. “One second.”

  She strode through the half-open door and returned a minute later with a robe.

  “Put this on,” Hamma said.

  Ruwen took the white robe and held it out in front of him. “Can’t we get in trouble for this?

  Hamma shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “Why are you helping me?”

  “Because it will cause Yull and Fusil heartburn. That’s enough for me.”

  “Maybe this will make it worse. I wonder if I should just go out the normal way.”

  Hamma held up two fingers. “Two things. One, you overthink. Two, why, after everything Fusil has done, would you want to give him a chance to do more?”

  “You are very wise,” Ruwen said.

  Hamma’s cheeks turned pink. “Thanks, it is my base attribute, after all.”

  They both laughed, and Ruwen pulled the robe over his head.

  Shing!

  You have learned a new skill!

  Skill: Disguise

  Level: 1

  Effect: Anyone observing you has a 1% reduction to their Perception.

  His first skill! Despite the situation, he grinned and read the notification three times. This definitely wasn’t what he expected his first skill to be, but it didn’t matter. After sixteen years, his progress was finally being measured. He closed the notification and focused back on his surroundings.

  Hamma peeked through the half-open door and then entered the next room. Ruwen followed and stepped into what must have been the revival room. Three rows of five rectangular tubs were spaced evenly in the room. He looked down at one as he passed and was shocked to see the lid was clear and a half-formed body lay in the bubbling yellow liquid. It looked like a dumpling in a chicken broth. He covered his mouth, thankful that his stomach was empty.

  He looked away from the tank and found Hamma had almost made it to the door on the left wall. He strode toward her, eyes straight ahead and away from the tubs. It made him nauseous that not even an hour ago he’d been a dumpling. Hamma waited at the door.

  “That is really gross,” Ruwen said.

  “I know, but you get used to it. Well, kind of. I still can’t eat soup. And that isn’t nearly as bad as the tub they put the dead ones in.”

  “Wait. I thought the priests performed some sort of ceremony and then, I don’t know, vaporized the bodies.”

  “That would be really wasteful. All the base components to make a new body are there in a dead one. Recycle and reuse, my friend.”

  “What!”

  Hamma covered his mouth with her hand, which smelled like cedar and ammonia. “Keep quiet, you moron. Are you trying to get caught?”

  She quickly pulled her hand away as her cheeks turned pink.

  Ruwen rubbed his arms. “I’m a bunch of dead people?”

  “People are always made from other people and plants and animals and rocks and fish and minerals. The temple breaks all those things down and stores the resources. I thought you were smart.”

  “I am smart. School never gave us the details,” Ruwen said, a bit defensively. “I just never realized how directly it all happened. I have this weird feeling like I’m not me anymore. That the real me is still dead in that tank upstairs, and I’m just a piece of soggy bread.”

  Hamma’s face lost its anger. “Your body is just a piece of soggy bread. What makes you Ruwen is here,” she said and touched his forehead.

  Ruwen closed his eyes and tried to relax. A moment later, she flicked him between the eyes. He stepped back and rubbed the stinging away.

  “So, quit being a baby and move your soggy butt,” Hamma said, opening the door.

  They walked down a short grey tunnel made of the same strange metal he had seen before. It ended at a ladder that rose through a hole in the ceiling.

  Hamma pointed up. “I’ll go first. Follow close behind. We’re climbing through all five levels. If there are people on one of the floors, ignore them. Just keep climbing. Oh, and I’m wearing shorts, so don’t think you’re getting a free look.”

  Ruwen’s eyes felt like they might burst from his head. He stepped back, shaking his hands. His mouth moved but didn’t make any sounds.

  Hamma winked and then started climbing. He took a few deep breaths and wiped his hands on the robe. He looked straight ahead and followed her. He thought he heard Hamma laugh.

  It didn’t take them long to climb the five levels. Ruwen heard voices on the last two levels but didn’t stop or look around. When the ladder ended, he followed Hamma down a hallway, and a middle-aged priest walked toward them.

  “Her Blessings, Sister,” the priest said as he approached.

  “Blessings, Brother,” Hamma responded.

  “Her Blessings, Brother,” the priest said as he passed.

  Ruwen looked at the floor. His heart beat so quickly he reached up and pushed on his chest. His throat felt dry, and his legs suddenly seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

  “Blessings,” he croaked.

  Ruwen paused, sure he had given himself away, and the priest would grab him. But the priest kept walking. Hamma grabbed his hand, pulling it from his chest, and dragged him forward. He heard a small gasp from her at the same moment a notification appeared in his vision.

  Shing!

  You have learned a new skill!

  Skill: Deception

  Level: 1

  Effect: Increases your Persuasion by 1%.

  He closed the notification, happy to have gained another skill so quickly. Hamma released his hand, and in moments they were up the stone stairs and out of the small building that covered the stairwell. Ruwen could see the back of the temple fifty feet away.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  Her eyes were wide, and her skin seemed to glow in the sunlight. “I had fun. And I earned a couple of new skills.”

  “Me too. How do I return your robe?”

  She waved her hand. “Keep it. It was one of Yull’s.”

  He stood there, frustrated there were no pockets for him to stick his hands in. He shuffled his feet and looked down. He had enjoyed being around Hamma and wanted to see her again, but it felt like he had forgotten how to form words.

  “Listen, I really did have fun. Have you heard of the Screaming Rabbit?” Hamma asked.

  Ruwen shook his head.

  “It’s a tea shop on Nort
h-Side just west of the arena. I spend a lot of my free time there. Come by if you’d like to hang out.”

  Her eyes glazed over for a moment. She must have gotten a notification.

  “Three new skills in a single morning. That, Mr. Starfield, is a good start. See you later.”

  Before he could say anything, she strode back to the small building over the stairs. He watched her for a few seconds wondering what skills she had gotten. Then he brought up his map, searched for the Screaming Rabbit, and labeled it. Then he zoomed back until the two gold quest triangles appeared. He marked them as his destination and started walking. As horrible as this day had been, it hadn’t been a total loss.

  Chapter 4

  Ruwen squinted as he walked east toward the rising sun. The temple sat in the center of the city, and so the walk to the Worker’s Lodge wouldn’t take too long. He had removed the robe once he’d cleared the temple grounds. Since he didn’t have a Dimensional Bag yet, his Inventory wasn’t accessible. He didn’t want to chance upsetting Uru by throwing away her priest’s robe, though, so he rolled it up and carried it under his arm. Getting swallowed by a sinkhole or being hit by a falling tree were probably accidents, but he figured it was better to be safe than sorry when it came to the gods.

  The city had woken up, and there were far more people about than that morning. The crowds slowed his pace, but he didn’t mind. He spent the time inspecting everyone around him and enjoying the new capabilities of his interface. Almost everyone was some type of low-level Worker. Ruwen saw a few Merchants and two Fighters wearing the city’s Order Enforcement tabard. The dark blue tabard had a white circle in the middle with a white sword laying on top. No one gave him a second glance.

  The smell of food filled the air, and his stomach rumbled. But he didn’t have any coins on him, so he ignored it as best he could. Ruwen noticed that some of the merchants he passed had a golden light surrounding them. He assumed these were people who would give him quests if he stopped and asked.

  As he moved eastward, the buildings transitioned from stone to wood and the houses off the main street turned into multi-story apartments. The flagstones in the road here showed heavy use with many of the stones chipped and worn. People here moved with purpose, and Ruwen’s pace sped up.

  Ten minutes later, a large round building came into view. It sat in the middle of the road like a boulder in a stream, and the crowd flowed around it. Large white blocks made up the first thirty feet of the building, and planked oak created an arched roof. Hundreds of Workers milled around, most in small groups. Laughter and shouts came from everywhere, and Ruwen could feel the energy around him. For the first time, he started to see Workers higher than Novice. He weaved through the groups and entered the Lodge through the open double doors.

  The noise, trapped by the roof, made the inside of the building incredibly loud. Ruwen had spent most of the last three years in the library, and the sound here felt like an assault on his ears. Men and women stood on stone blocks that were spaced evenly around the outer wall. There were large boards next to each with what looked like job postings. Workers clumped in front of the boards. Every person on a block glowed yellow and would provide him a quest if approached. How was he supposed to find his quest if everyone here already glowed?

  At the center of the building, a square stone pillar rose, each side twenty feet long to support the ceiling. A closed iron-banded door stood at the bottom of the pillar. A line of tables created a barrier in front of the support, and a single man sat behind them, near the door. He had the same golden color as those along the walls, but his pulsed like a slow heartbeat.

  Ruwen inspected him.

  Name: Crew Chief Bliz

  Class: Worker

  Sub Class: Collector

  Specialization: Mining

  Class Rank: Disciple

  Level: 51

  Health: 870

  Mana: 170

  Energy: 1,273

  Ruwen walked up, placed the rolled-up robe on the table, and crossed his arms over his chest. “Uru’s blessings, Crew Chief Bliz. My name is Ruwen Starfield.”

  His growth spurt had put him just over six feet tall, but when the crew chief stood, Ruwen had to look up. The man’s hair, a mixture of grey and black, had been cut short and stood up straight like the bristles of a brush. His skin appeared tanned by years in the sun. Bliz held out his arm, and Ruwen extended his as well. The crew chief grabbed his forearm just under his elbow, and Ruwen copied the gesture. The older man’s grip was firm but not painful. Ruwen could see the bulges of powerful muscles under the man’s shirt, and he knew this man could literally break him in two without a sweat.

  “Well met, Ruwen Starfield,” Bliz said.

  Ruwen cleared his throat as the man let go of his arm. “Well met, Crew Chief Bliz.”

  “I only got the notification of your Class assignment this morning. I didn’t expect you for another week.”

  Ruwen bit his lip. How did he explain his morning? His rapid revival would only cause more questions, but he didn’t want to lie. He decided on a half-truth. “I think some of those priests don’t like following the process.”

  Bliz laughed. “Isn’t that the truth. Well, I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been excited to meet you.”

  A notification appeared.

  Ting!

  You have completed the Quest – Work is its Own Reward.

  You have received 200 experience.

  You have received 50 copper.

  “Do you have a Sub-Class in mind yet? It will help us with your gear and training if we know what your intentions are,” Bliz said.

  Ruwen had spent years planning his Sub-Class and Specialization path in the Mage tree, not the Worker one. He didn’t even remember what options were available for Workers. He had never expected to be in this situation.

  “Not really,” Ruwen said.

  “Uru never sends me the smart ones. How did you end up here?”

  “Just lucky, I guess.”

  Bad luck, he thought.

  Bliz narrowed his eyes. “You need to get better at hiding your emotions. You’ll lose your paycheck playing Crowns and Swords.”

  Ruwen knew better than to play cards for money, but he kept his mouth shut. He obviously wasn’t hiding his disappointment very well, and he didn’t want to upset Bliz.

  “You a reader?” Bliz asked. “Not the ones with pictures, mind you.”

  “Yeah, I read a lot.”

  “You like working with your hands? Do you carve or sculpt or anything like that?”

  “No.”

  “Nobody likes to be told what to do, but could you tolerate some rich fart bossing you around if it paid well?”

  Ruwen thought about Slib and him telling Ruwen to clean his room or muck out the stables or…

  “Definitely not,” Ruwen said.

  “Do you mind being by yourself?”

  “I usually prefer it.”

  “Last question. Have you ever thought about leaving Deepwell? Or is the risk too great?”

  Ruwen thought about the quest Uru had given him. He needed to leave to find his parents, and Uru’s quest would force him to go in the next thirty days.

  “I want to leave,” Ruwen said.

  Bliz thumped the table with his hand. “Well, that settles it. You’re a boy after my own heart. You sound like a Collector to me.”

  That triggered an old memory from a book about the basics of each Class.

  “Aren’t Collectors just farmworkers?” Ruwen asked and immediately regretted it.

  But Bliz didn’t seem offended. “That is what people think. As if all we do is harvest wheat or apples. But we can also mine or find herbs or skin animals.”

  “What are the other options?”

  “We don’t fall into many buckets. The only other two are Laborer and Household. You didn’t sound like a good fit for either.”

  Collector didn’t sound that great either, but it was still better than the alternatives.


  “And I don’t have to decide for sure until level ten?” he asked.

  “Right, declaring your intent just helps us focus your gear, ability, and spell choices. Are you in?”

  A notification appeared.

  Ting!

  You have received the quest…

  Tools of the Trade

  Crew Chief Bliz thinks you are special and has spent extra time to determine the Sub-Class you should focus on. Laborers are generalists and useful for any job. They can stack boxes, dig holes, or carry lumber. The Household Sub-Class is most comfortable working for a family or business and generally works inside. Collectors tend to work outside and away from the city. They can plant and sow crops, harvest fruit, or collect resources not found in the city. Crew Chief Bliz believes you would be happiest as a Collector. Declaring your Sub-Class intent will allow the Workers’ Lodge to focus your training, spells, and abilities.

  Reward: Mentorship in your chosen path.

  Reward: Specialized equipment

  Laborer or Household or Collector or Decline

  Ruwen felt sick. All these choices were terrible. He selected Collector, and the notification disappeared.

  “Good choice,” Bliz said.

  Bliz looked Ruwen up and down and then walked to the iron-bound door, opened it, and disappeared inside the central pillar.

  Another notification appeared.

  Ting!

  You have received the quest…

  Does This Taste Funny to You? (Part 1)

  The world is a dangerous place, and a Collector seeks out valuable and unsafe resources in it. Without proper information, these items will kill you or be rendered useless. Successful Collectors know the most crucial resource is knowledge. Speak with Librarian Tremine.

  Reward: Collector Novice Manual (part 1)

  Reward: 200 experience

  Accept or Decline

  Ruwen gasped, and his stomach turned. Tremine had been in charge of his schooling for the last three years and had acted as his father for the last one. The man had put so much time and effort into his education, Ruwen was terrified the librarian would be disappointed in him. None of this was Ruwen’s fault, but what if Tremine didn’t understand or believe that?