Fuller took one look at me, then at Nolan, yanked out the leather chest piece, and handed it to me in a rush.
“Sorry,” I said and tried to sound contrite. “I didn’t mean to hit Nolan that hard.”
“It’s fine. Nolan isn’t the smartest one among us,” Fuller said. “You should probably go.”
“Good idea,” I said and meant it. I didn’t think Nolan was going to try to start any more crap, but just in case, I didn’t want to find out how good he was with the sword at his side. Then again.
I thanked Fuller and then approached Nolan’s form. He stared up at me with wide eyes and pushed his back toward the wall.
I lifted my staff and set the end against his throat because bravado got the better of me. “Who’s the towser?”
“I am, of course,” he said and nodded his head sharply.
I dropped my borrowed chest piece on the floor next to him, leaned over, found his coin purse and snapped it off of his belt. I opened the leather bag and found a few silvers. I took two of them and dropped the bag on his chest. “For my trouble.”
“Of course. Take it,” Nolan raised his hands in supplication.
I picked up my new chest piece, pocketed the coins and went back to find out if Karian and Oz had turned up back at the Crimson Mages.
19
EPIC QUEST
Bullies are the worst.
When I was in high school, I had been a short, pudgy kid with wild hair that never did what I wanted. I used to hide out with my friends during lunch so we could pour over stats and leveling tips in online forums. There were a lot of MMOs back then, and Realms of Th’loria was probably in its beginning stages, not even an alpha build had been talked about yet.
I was teased mercilessly because of my obsession with video games even though half of the assholes who picked on me probably played games in their rooms. I even went to a couple of conventions where nerds like me ran around and cosplayed. I made a mage’s outfit for the old game World of Warcraft. It wasn’t perfect and my robes had been created from an old set of curtains, but instead of others scoffing, I was praised for my hard work. I even had attendees asking to take pictures with me.
But the next day, at school, it was like the bullies knew what a remarkable weekend I’d had. A guy named Bruce Strand knocked me down, took my backpack, and then threw it in one of the toilets. This was witnessed by dozens of other kids at school, and I lived with the shame for the rest of the school year.
I hated everything about high school, but I hated bullies most of all.
I stood outside of the mage’s guild and tried to look nonchalant.
I was concerned that Karian and Oz might not show up at all. What if they found an adventure and went off without me? Or what if they both got into trouble and had been killed. Now they were stuck miles from here, without a stitch of clothing, weapons, or gear, and running for their lives. We seriously needed to figure out a way to make a fantasy version of a cell phone network. Or get some of those ravens from the old television show Game of Thrones.
I looked over the leather armor breastplate that Fuller had lent me and considered putting it on under my robe. The piece was thicker than I had anticipated and I wondered if it was considered boiled armor. A week ago I could have told you everything you needed to know about leather, chain and plate mail armor, but it would have all been from in-game knowledge. The real thing wasn’t quite what was seen on screen. One thing Realms of Th’loria could not capture was the dirt and grime on everything, and the smell. Fuller had been a nice enough guy, but his armor smelled like ass. I guess that’s what happens with the real article. All of that sweat builds up, and then you have a perfect breeding ground for bad scents.
I kept my eye on the warrior’s guild in case Nolan found his balls and got a bunch of his buds to come kick the shit out of me. If it came to that, I was going to head straight into the Crimson Mages' guild and do the smart thing. Hide out for a while.
With Karian and Oz nowhere in sight, I flipped open my book and studied my new skills.
Toward the back of the book, I found a page filled with new information. All of the quests that had been handed to me were listed. I had to flip the page to read them. At least each had notes attached that were easy to follow.
Level 5 Quest:
Semre Sudath, a widow seeking a bangle that was lost when her husband dropped it in the ruins of Brava Duluce to the north.
Return the bangle to Semre for a reward.
XP gain: ***
Reward: ***
JUST LIKE EVERYTHING else in this broken version of a beta piece of shit, there were no clear answers as to how much XP I would receive, nor an accurate amount of coin. I would have to complete the quest. The question was, would Karian and Oz be up for all of these fetch quests. Not to mention the fact that, according to the next quest, Draros Lepqen wanted me to kill a bunch of rotbrutes, then chop the creatures up and extract their venom sacs.
Who knew living in an epic fantasy game would be so damned exhausting.
I snapped my fingers, put the book back in my bag, and removed the satchel from my back. There were several scrolls inside, and since I had made it to level 5, it was time to add a new spell. I reread the requirements and found that Minor Acid Rain would be mine.
I followed Ansalon’s words of advice and unrolled the scroll. I glanced at it and then away until the after image of the symbols faded from my sight. Then I turned my attention to the scroll and focused on my mana pool. Like a sip of magic, this time the spell didn’t try to knock me off my feet. It burned again but not as brightly, and then the scroll was completely blank.
I popped open my book and found a new icon on my spell page, a small cloud over three human figures huddling in fear as rain poured on them. I thought of the images but also remembered Ansalon’s words. I wanted to practice the spell now, but there were no mobs here, and casting it on the NPCs going about their pre-determined paths was just cruel, and an excellent way to get my sorry ass kicked out of yet another town.
He had not lied either. Draedor’s Fingers were not gone from my spell page. What kind of crap was that? I guess I would have to learn it again once I reached level 6.
My head suddenly felt like it was stuffed with cotton. I stood up, stretched my legs, and shook off the confusion brought on by learning a new spell. I walked up and down the street and eyed the other buildings.
Returning to the steps leading into the mage’s guild, I took a seat on the top and laid my staff across my knees. I touched the gnarled top and tried to sense any magic. I ran my hands along the smooth wood and tried to delve into it, but I had absolutely no skills in determining an item’s properties unless they were carved in the item.
“Playing with your wood?” Karian asked.
My eyes shot up from the staff.
Karian appeared to have gotten some rest, and a bath. Her hair was clean, but that wasn’t the weird part.
“Where did you get cleaned up?” I asked. “You look, uh, like you’re glowing.”
“Found a bathhouse and soaked for like two hours. They had a steam room like a sauna. The rooms were coated in salt, and the women brought in essential oils to pour on the hot rocks. It was probably the most relaxing experience of my entire life,” Karian said. “Then I had some oils worked into my skin. Never tried anything like that in our world. It was like the best massage ever.”
“That sounds really nice. I wish I could have joined you,” I said.
I wish I could have been in charge of the oils, I didn’t say.
“Oh you do, do you?” she teased me.
“I didn’t mean it that way. I haven’t had a bath since we got here,” I said as my cheeks turned red.
Karian leaned over and sniffed. “Well, you don’t smell that bad, yet. I wonder where we can all get some underarm deodorant?”
“Probably have to craft it out of flowers and artisanal waters,” I said.
Karian laughed. “Good one. Is there an alc
hemy class in this game?”
“I don’t know but it’s a good thought,” I said. “Maybe we can open a shop and sell potions.”
“Great idea, Walt. Real capitalist, but doesn’t that sound a little dull when we’ve got an entire world to explore? We’ve been here for a few days, me a bit longer, but we’ve only been to a few locations. Think of how much fun we would have if we went to the capital city, what’s it called?”
“Shimmerspire. It’s on the coast and connected by long land bridges.”
“I know. I’m just saying we’re seeing the ass end of Th’loria right now. So much more we could explore. How about if we wandered down to the Glimmerfall salt desert.”
“A salt desert sounds like a hoot. I can’t wait to go get a sunburn and dig chunks of salt out of my asscrack,” I said.
Karian threw her head back and laughed.
I smiled but hadn’t meant it as a joke. I sure as hell didn’t want to find a desert, or freaking Shimmerspire yet. We needed to be smart and level up a lot more.
“Have you seen Oz?”
“Right here,” Oz said and stepped from out of a shadow next to the building.
“Christ,” Karian jumped back. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“Not bad, huh? I found those Calia Rai guys and stopped by to say hi. It was enlightening.”
“Look at you following your roots,” I said.
“Screw you, pal. This is all about becoming a freaking ninja,” Oz said. He leaped into the air, whipped his head around, and his legs followed as he executed a near perfect spinning jump kick.
“How did you learn that? You haven’t even tried hand to hand combat,” I asked.
“Simple, bro. It’s called character respec,” Oz said.
“They let you do that?” I sputtered.
“Yeah. I hadn’t put them into my swordplay yet, so I just asked at the guild, and they helped me move them into a new skill tree. Not cheap, though.”
“So you aren’t going use the sword anymore?” I asked because I couldn’t help but notice that he still wore it around his waist.
“They helped me put one point into swordplay, but in a ninja way, bro,” Oz grinned. “How did you do with the mages?”
“Ansalon distributed my points,” I said. “Were you guys disappointed when you trained? All he did was help allocate skill points in my book. Kind of anticlimactic if you ask me. Except for the guy at the warrior’s guild. He scared me when I asked him to help me train in mace.”
“What did you expect? A training montage with bad ‘80s music playing in the background?” Karian said. “Sorry, buddy, but you’re no Sylvester Stallone.”
Oz laughed and me with him. She was right, too. There were some things in video games you accepted. Like showing up at a trainer's home and having him or her wave a magic wand over you. Voila—you suddenly had new skills.
“Glad you took some points in an alternate ability to magic. If you run out of mana out in the wild, it’s a good idea to have a backup,” Karian said.
“Oh, hey. Did you guys get a bunch of quests? I couldn’t even walk up the street without getting assaulted by some NPC who needed something either retrieved or killed,” I said.
“Same thing happened to me. At least we’ll stay busy for a few days,” Oz said. “We should compare quests. Maybe we can coordinate and knock a bunch out in the same locations.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” I told Oz. “So you’re not still pissed?”
“Not as much. The Calia Rai guys were very insightful, and pointed out that I was probably here for a reason,” Oz said.
He did seem a little more relaxed than yesterday. Come to think of it, I felt at peace as well. We were stuck here for the time being, so it made sense that we needed to make the best of a bad situation.
“Here for a reason? Now that’s some mystical bullshit if I’ve ever heard it,” Karian said.
Ansalon pushed open the front door. He carried a couple of wrapped pieces of parchment and another bundle wrapped in white cloth.
“Greetings,” he nodded at the three of us. “Have you informed your friends of the land’s need?”
“No, because you haven’t informed me yet,” I replied.
“Very well. I have need of your burgeoning skills,” Ansalon said.
“Epic quest time,” I said under my breath with glee.
“I’m kind of busy tonight,” Oz said.
“Oh, stop,” Karian chastised Oz.
“The sorcerer Falstace has corrupted a piece of a Lorian shard. It lies to the west of our location in the middle of a swamp. I have provided the site on this map,” Ansalon handed me the first piece of paper.
“A swamp? That’s interesting considering all we have seen out there are fields and forest. How far away?” Oz said.
“It’s on the map, now pay attention, my boy,” Ansalon chastised Oz.
“Okay, then,” Oz said.
“The entrance is inside of a decrepit church long since fallen to the elements. The location was once a shrine to Leefser, but it is now corrupted. Many enemies await,” Ansalon said.
“So we go to this old shrine, kill some stuff, then do what with the shard piece?” I said.
“Inside of the shrine lies a massive iron door set in the lower level’s floor. Once opened you will find that you must descend a set of stairs and enter The Catacombs of the Fallen Cultist. Once upon a time, a group of men and women dedicated to corruption occupied the location. They are long dead now,” Ansalon paused dramatically. “But still they live on.”
“So like zombies?” Oz said.
“Undead, yes. But not above your level of skill. As you advance through the catacombs you shall become much stronger, I can assure you. This will make your final task much easier.”
“So we go down into these catacombs. Kill a bunch of bad guys. Get this shard thing which is probably protected by a boss of some kind. Then return and…”
“Profit!” Oz shouted before I could finish my recap.
“Yes. Well, something like that. Retrieve the sliver and return it to me immediately. Anything less will lead to your corruption and death. I cannot stress this enough,” Ansalon said.
“See, this doesn’t exactly scream fun vacation get away from Weslori,” Oz said.
“It does to me,” I grinned.
“I have to agree. This will be a blast,” Karian said.
“A blast. Yes. Return the sliver to us, and you shall have our eternal gratitude,” Ansalon said.
“Wait. What’s our reward for this quest?” I asked because you always got cool loot from epic dungeon quests.
“You shall each receive a weapon of your choice from our vault, and you may take as long as you wish to choose. As well, we have mystical pieces of armor, and you will be allowed to select two. Along with this, you shall each receive one hundred gold pieces, not to mention, the knowledge that you have saved the land from corruption,” Ansalon said. “Now I must return to my studies, but I have one last item here.”
Oz crossed his hands over his chest and let out a heavy sigh.
“What is it?” I asked.
“It is for you. Your weapon of choice is not befitting a mage. The staff is one thing but the ugly starter mace another,” Ansalon said. “The staff, once unlocked, shall serve you well. Until then, you will need a better weapon. Consider this an advance on your adventure.”
Ansalon handed me the bundle wrapped in white. I pulled the cloth apart and found a new mace. It was lighter in weight, and the surface was clean and a light silver color. Four flanges made up the head, and a green gem similar to the one I had given Burp the goblin sat at its peak. Leather wound around the haft, and provided a sturdy grip. I took the weapon in hand and tested the weight, then I flipped it upside down and studied the markings.
5 LE
15 DU
0 MA
20 DA
“Hot damn, this thing does 20 damage,” I said. “How much is that, Ansalon? Like,
say I wanted to bash in Oz’s head?”
“What did I do wrong?” Oz looked shocked.
“I’m just asking, as an example,” I said.
“Well, why didn’t you ask about bashing in Karian’s head then?”
“Leave me out of this,” Karian frowned.
“You shall have to determine its measure of damage on your own. Take it with the blessing of the Crimson Mages, and may it serve you well,” Ansalon said. “Return from your quest and claim your reward. I bid you farewell for now.”
Ansalon turned and opened the door to the guild and went back inside with a swirl of white beard and shimmering robe.
I wished I could stay for a few more days and train with the old man, but I had no skill points left. I would have to go out and either complete the quest or fight enough to gain more skill points, not to mention levels. At least I was level 5 now, and I would be able to determine a mob’s threat level.
“You guys down for this quest?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Sounds like a circle jerk if you ask me,” Oz said.
“Gross,” Karian shot Oz a frown. “I think it’s worth investigating at the very least. We should try to determine how the land has fallen so much. I have to admit I’m curious what will happen if we do complete it. Will the damage from a rogue NPC be negated by completing this quest?”
“That’s what Ansalon said. I don’t have any reason to doubt him,” I said.
“I’ll go, but I want it known that I don’t think this will be fun. I don’t even think it will be anything less than a lame walk into a swamp. Then we’re going to probably get killed and wake up naked again. Are you sure you’re ready for that, Walt?” Oz asked.
“Yeah, Walt. He’s got a point,” Karian said. “But what else are we going to do? Besides, I have an idea.”
“Oh?” I said.
“Yeah. This guy Falstace. I bet he might have a few answers. Maybe we should get the sliver, figure out how to clean it up, and then go ask him some questions,” Karian said.
SHARDS OF REALITY: A LitRPG novel (Enter the Realm Book 1) Page 20
