Chapter 8
The next morning I awoke to the sun directly in my eyes. Resting an arm over my head to shield it from the cruel morning sun, I take a few minutes to let my brain wake up. Turning to my side I open my eyes and get a look around. The room is pretty bare, just the one person bed, a nightstand next to it and the dresser on the opposite wall. I do a little stretching like usual while Timbre and Thia sleep on and then leave the room to find where I can do other business. Hearing some noise down the hall I head that way.
I find that the source of the noise is Azzaria making breakfast in the kitchen. It is simple fair of some oatmeal, flavored with little bits of dried fruit. "Is there a bathroom or something I can use to get cleaned up and take care of business?" Looking up from her work she says "Good morning, I think what you are looking for is through the door across from where you slept." Plastering a silly grin on my face I respond "Thank you fair lady" give her a little bow, and turn back down the hall to clean up.
In the so called bathroom I take a look around to see what the differences are. Not too many, but still obvious. To the right the room is taken up by what I think is the shower. There is a grate in the floor and a blue stone in the wall. I will save that for later. In front of the door is a normal looking sink with another blue stone set next to the faucet. Looking a little closer I can sense mana there, and see faint lines worked into the sink around the stone and the faucet. My need is getting urgent so I forgo further investigation. Moving to the left there is a box with a hole on it that I assume is the toilet.
Another blue stone and the faint lines I saw at the sink again. I guess these are magic since I can feel the mana in them. It doesn't stink in here so I can only assume that there is some form of disposal, but I think I prefer not knowing. Finishing up I look at the toilet again and reach out to touch the blue stone. There is the sound of flowing water for a minute and then it stops. Great, that was easy to work. Looking over to the grated floor and the blue stone there I decide to make myself a little more presentable. But first, I step up to the sink and take a good look at the mirror hanging on the wall above it. What I see there in my reflection is similar to what I remember from when I was on Earth, but there are a few noticeable differences.
I'm still around six feet tall, I think, and my facial features look the same. Though they are a little leaner than before. My body is also in better shape with more defined muscles. Not thick like body builder muscles, but lean like a swimmer. I can only assume this is the result of adding points into my STR and AGI stats. The biggest changes are my hair and eyes. My hair is darker, to the point it appears black. If you look closely though, you can see that is actually a violet color. This is similar to my eyes now that they are also a violet color, though they are lighter than my hair. Startled by my new appearance, I just stand there leaning against the sink and staring at myself in the mirror. A few minutes later I have recovered from the shock and really take in the new features. I am really starting to like it. Well, it's not like I can really change it anyway.
Done admiring myself, I step onto the grate and pull the curtain folded against the wall out to cut off the little area. After taking a shower in room temperature water I change into my new traveling cloths. I head out to the kitchen again and sit at the little table to the side. Azzaria has already started eating and I join her. After the first couple of bites Timbre walks in with Thia on her head. Azzaria leans over to one of the other chairs and grabs some meat to give to my two companions. When I have finished eating I look up at the elf across from me "Thank you for breakfast Azzaria, and for thinking of Timbre and Thia as well."
"No sweat. I like them better than you" she says, but with a cheeky grin to let me know that she is just joking. "It is a little late in the morning since we slept in after the day we had yesterday. So, we need to get a move on if you want to visit a shop with magic items before we leave." With that she stands and I do too. I can feel through our bond that Thia is a little lethargic after her large breakfast so I pick her up and perch her on my shoulder. We grab all of our gear from the rooms before meeting back in the living room. Timbre following behind us, we leave the house and head back to the main street.
Following Azzaria's lead we head down past the building we met the council in and to another shop that has a wand crossed over a gear. That is a strange symbol for a magic shop I think to myself, until I enter the shop and I can understand. The layout is the same as the general store with lots of shelves, and on those shelves are all sorts of items. I can see clocks and small mechanical animals to name a few. From the feeling I am getting in here everything must use mana. There isn't a lot of it in the items but there is some.
From the back came a voice. "There you are human. I was expecting you to stop by, so when my son Beccer said you hadn't come in yesterday I decided to open the shop myself today. I was hoping to discuss a few things since you are a mage like me? By the way, my name is Bolden. I didn't get the chance to introduce myself yesterday at the council meeting." Standing at the counter in the back is the gnome elder from the council meeting.
"It is good to meet you Bolden. I would like to ask you about a few things as well. What would you like to talk to me about?"
"There are a few things, but first I would like to inquire about your familiar. In the meeting you said you used the book you found to learn the spell Summon Familiar. This is not uncommon since the spell book is found or made often, but you never mentioned what your familiar is. I have seen quite a few familiars, but as yours is young, I can't tell what it is."
I look at Thia on my shoulder and give her a scratch. With the urgency of the meeting regarding the beetle scourge I decided to leave out what Thia is, unless I needed to. I am trying to decide whether or not I want to reveal what she is now, but ultimately I want to get some answers about magic so I tell him. "Thia here is a Thunderbird chick."
After hearing this, the old gnome freezes for a second while squinting at me. "Impressive" he says while nodding. "That is one I definitely have not seen before. If everything goes well with your mission I would like to see what she looks like fully grown. The other thing I wanted to ask you can tell me some about the kind of person you are, if you are willing to answer. Please tell me, who is your patron?"
This question startles me and I panic a little before I look to Azzaria. She knows Bolden far better than I. She also seems a little startled by the question, but then nods to me so that I know he can be trusted. Looking back to Bolden I can see that our little exchange piqued his curiosity. Giving a sigh I respond "Gwydia." His eyes widen just before he disappears behind the counter. There is thump sound back there, and I think Bolden fell off whatever he was standing on to look over the chest high counter.
There is some scrabbling and Bolden appears above the counter again. "That is impossible!" he states. "No one has had her as a patron as long as I can remember."
I look over to Azzaria, and this time it is my turn to nod to her. Stepping forward she addresses Bolden. "He is telling the truth. He even shared his status with me so that I could confirm what he was telling me as truth."
Bolden's eyes go vacant for a second and he mumbles to himself quietly for a moment. "What does it mean? He must have always been meant to be a mage then...." I couldn't hear the rest, but soon he comes out of his stupor to ask me "What do you wish to know?"
"Everything, but for starters, what are the magical types I have seen mentioned? Another thing I was wondering is if there is another way to learn spells other than spell books? And since you brought it up, how do I develop my familiar?"
"OK, the second question first since it is quicker to answer. Spell books, as you have used before, can be found in dungeons or looted from powerful creatures. They can also be made by a person with the spell. Making a spell book is time consuming and draining, for mana is invested in it during creation. Spells can be made by a person though. This is intricate work and takes a very long time just to understand how spells one already k
nows work. You, I'm sure, have noticed how the information you have for the spells you know is instinctive. You don't have to think about how you manipulate the mana, just the end result, and it happens."
He runs his hands through his hair before continuing the lecture as if he has done it a few times in the past. "Creating your own spell takes a lot of work but it is widely believed that resonance also has a part to play here. Only with a high resonance in a type of magic can you hope to create a spell for it. Which brings us to your first question, there are realms of magic and then there are categories or types. Types of magic all belong under one realm or another, except for neutral magic. For the Elemental realm there is fire, air, water and earth types. In the Divine realm there is life, light, death and dark types. These are the most common realms that mages use, but there is also the Universal realm that is very rare to have resonance with. It has space and time types."
He lowers his voice and leans in as though he is going to tell me a secret "There is only one other realm that I have heard of and that is Corruption. I don't know all the types in this, but one thing they all have in common is the corruption they cause to the user. Hence the name. I do know that blood type magic is one." Straitening up again he continues in a normal voice again. "As for your familiar, she will grow with you. She will gain experience quickly at first, but when she gets to the same level as you she will only gain in power when you do. This goes for your Beast Companion as well."
"As for actual physical growth, every 5 levels she will grow till she is a fully grown Thunderbird. Some familiars will then grow at a slow rate some more over time before topping out. I don't know how that works for yours though, since she is so rare. When it comes to developing your familiar, she will get five points to distribute to her stats like any other creature, and one talent point every odd level with two every even level she gains. Because she is your familiar, you get to be the one to distribute the points in her stats and talent tree."
"Thank you for sharing that information with me. I have one more question about magic types though. How does one unlock the ability to use those magic types other than neutral?"
"Oh that is easy, your subclass will determine what magic is unlocked to you. When you get your first subclass you will see. Also, your spells don't have a level because that is based on the level of their corresponding type. There are even some that are considered to be multiple types. Those take the average level of all the types they are associated with and that is what the spell's power will be based off of."
"Thank you again Bolden. You have been most helpful. Now I do not know what subclass choices I will have in the future but I would like to look through any spell books that you might have. They could make the difference if we encounter any troubles on our trip."
"I do have some low level spells that should be perfect for you if the need arises in your travels. Considering your familiar and your patron, I would think that you would have a good few things to choose from when you get your subclass. Those that I have are on the wall over there" he says before gesturing to my left. "The shelf on the far wall is where you will find them. The ones farthest to the left are the most basic. Anything past that and you won't have the level in that magic to use it anytime soon."
Nodding my head I move to the side where he indicated. On the wall there are shelves, and the one farthest to the back of the store has a few books that look a lot like the ones I have already seen, but these all have a distinct color to the leather. Picking up a few and using Identify makes it clear that the type of magic it contains determines the color. I look through the first few to see what I think will be useful. There are not that many books here and only 4 would be useful right after getting a subclass. I am also only going to consider Elemental realm types, because with a thunderbird for a familiar I am sure I will have at least a few choices with magic types in that realm. Only 2 of the books are Elemental realm.
Spell Book: Fog: Summons a fog that obscures vision. Class: Any. Water type magic unlocked.
Spell Book: Earth Spike: Force the ground to strike out in the form of a cone with a sharp point. Class: Any. Earth type magic unlocked.
The water spell was two gold and the earth one three gold according to their price tags. Looking at the two books I decide that I will get both, and if I can't use them I can always sell them back. It will almost clean me out but I don't plan on buying anything else until we get back. When I get back there is the reward from completing the quest. If I don't complete the quest then I won't be able to come back anyways.
Looking to Azzaria I see that she is browsing the few books in the front of the store on the same wall as me. Walking over I ask "What are those?"
Looking up from her inspection of the tag, she turns it to me so that I can see the description there. It is a skill book for something called Trick Shot. It allows the user to "bend" the path of an arrow or thrown projectile to avoid an obstacle. "I have been eying this one for a while. Skill books are expensive, but with our recently gained fortune I can finally afford this."
"That could be useful. Let's go pay for these and get on the road." Walking up to the counter I let Azzaria pay first. After paying, she goes to read it and Bolden holds up his hand to stop her. "One moment before you use that please." He gets down and rummages around under the counter for a minute. Coming back into view he sets a wide, deep dish on the counter in front of Azzaria. "Please read it over that, the dust gets everywhere otherwise." Chuckling, I remember the spell book I read and how the dust got all over me after using it. Azzaria holds the book over the dish then opens it. Just like I remember, the pages start to turn and the book glows. A minute or so later the back cover closes and it collapses into a pile of dust in the dish. Judging by her smile, the elf is very pleased.
It's my turn and I pay my 5 gold, though I am sad to see it go. Saying our goodbyes to Bolden, we leave the store. Turning to Azzaria I say "I thought you said most people didn't want to talk to you because of Serin? Everyone we have spoken to has been decent."
"We spoke to them when we were paying customers. No matter what, he can't stop them from doing business with people. You will notice though, that no one has spoken to us on the street."
Realizing she is right, I look around on the street and can tell that people are avoiding us. Everywhere I turn I can see people looking at us out of the corner of their eyes. Those walking toward us, or that we are walking towards, are changing course slightly to stay away. Seeing this I decide to change the subject. The four of us are walking (except for Thia on my shoulder) west out of town when I ask her "What were the blue stones in the bathroom?"
"Those are low quality water stones. Mana stones come in all forms, but elemental ones are the most common. They gather and store mana, changing it into the type that the stone is. They can be used to power simple enchantments like those you might have seen in the bathroom. The low quality ones just look like colored stones and can't gather mana very quickly or hold very much. Higher quality ones will look like colored crystals with the clearer the crystal the higher its quality. It is said that the highest quality ones actually glow faintly and can be used for the strongest enchantments."
"Wow, those sound like they could be very handy to have around. The bathroom was almost like back on Earth. I wonder how the stones are made." I say out loud, not expecting an answer. Azzaria answers me anyways.
"When I was younger I was curious about this as well, so I asked Bolden. I am not sure whether he was telling me a tale or not but he said that the stronger mana stones are the result of a rock soaking in mana, which is what creates a mana stone, and being subjected to an amazing amount of pressure. Like if a mountain was sitting on it. He said that enough time like this causes the stone to be crushed smaller and smaller and crystallizing it. Mana crystals are similar, but they need a high concentration of mana to grow without the pressure. Those are used as consumable materials in a lot of professions."
"That actually makes sense. People back
on earth discovered that diamonds are basically chunks of coal that underwent the same process, though I think there needs too be heat as well for diamonds. Makes sense that something similar happens to Mana stones then."
"It is quite amazing what humans on Earth were able to do even without magic."
"I am actually starting to think that maybe magic is the reason that this world hasn't done similar things by now. But it could just be the larger and more powerful threats from this world that are causing it." She is looking at me funny now and I sigh. "I know it is boring. It just got me thinking a little. You probably don't want to hear my ramblings."
Shaking her head as if to clear it, she responds with "No it's not that. I was just surprised about the insight. Though, it is probably both the threat that the monsters pose keeping people busy and the convenience of magic that is stunting innovation." It is my turn to look at her this time. She giggles a little at my look and turns back to the front before looking around and stopping. I look around now and realize that we have left the town and we are almost to the western tree line.
"OK, since we are heading out on a mission together we should form a Party. We will no doubt be fighting plenty of things and it will help us keep track of each other."
"This world has a Party system as well? Like, so that we can share experience and stuff?"
"Yes, that's right. In order to start it just think about starting a Party with someone like when you access your status." Doing just that, I see a message.
You have invited Azzaria Whitefeather to join your Party.
Watching her, I can see her eyes unfocussed like always when someone is interacting with the game like system of this world. After a few seconds I get a new message.
Azzaria Whitefeather has joined your Party.
After getting this I can see Azzaria's health and mana bars appear under mine in the corner of my vision. "That is pretty handy. Seeing your health bar in my vision reminded me that we didn't get any healing or mana potions. We should go back to Enora's shop while we can to get some for our trip." I start to turn but Azzaria reaches out and takes my arm. "No need. I woke before you and Enora came by on her way to the shop. I went with her and bought some after chatting with her. I got some for you too." She reaches into her bag and draws out 2 red potions and 3 blue ones.
A Mage Prepared Page 10
