Origins

by Andrew Bardsley

  Before he was able to enter a washroom quietly, he was intersected by one of the trainers who are eyeing his physique presumed that he was a warrior, the large but muscular man said "Stop there, my names Raimond one of the trainers in the guild. I've not seen you before the warrior, are you a level one?"

  Ceras stopped as the large man blocked his path but only came up to his chin height. Ceras said respectfully showing his guild mark, "I just off to use the bathing facilities, as they want you clean for the library."

  Raimond looked at his mark with astonishment and said in a surprised voice with a raised eyebrow, "You have the mark of a wizard, why would you do that with your physique?"

  Ceras was just about to answer when the trainer stopped him, and said, "Will it don't matter as your still worth training, so if you're looking for a good rate and the best trainer, I'll do it for you. Ask anybody around here for me, and they help you find me."

  With that, the large man walked off shaking his head as he shouted at someone who was attacking a dummy with a staff. Cera went into the male washrooms saw flowing water into many stone troughs. It took him about half an hour to clean up and return to the library clean and dry.

  He had about an hour left before it was mid-day and he would meet the other for their shopping trip, so Ceras went straight for the index box in the library. Ceras had an idea of what he wanted to start researching. He thought that with his physical strength that it would be good to use it with a combination of magic to produce a combined effect. So, he was hoping that there was some type of spell or skill that would transfer the magical touch attack down a weapon like his staff. In the 'S' index box he found a spell for transferring magical effect down a staff but no other weapon. This was perfect for Ceras plan at the moment, so he found the book on that contained the spell on the library shelves and started to read it.

  Only one chapter of the book was devoted to enhancing the staff so that it could transmit the power, Ceras quickly skimmed through the information, and it seems like he could manage it with some work, but as it was time to meet the other he put the book back deciding to study it tonight. Now it was time to see what they could get from the market for the money they had earnt.

  Walking fast down the stair he saw the whole group had gathered in the main hall. The girls had washed like he had while Rinaldo and Grikius were still as dirt as this when he had left team.

  Rhef elbowed Rinaldo in the chest and said with a snide comment, "Look, he managed to clean up, why not you."

  Rinaldo ignored him and said to Ceras as he seemed to be jumping up and down, "I've managed to find a trainer who will teach me some mace skills. Isn't that great."

  Ceras smiled and said, "I got access to the library; it cost me fifty copper coins thought."

  Grikius said to the group, "Shall were go shopping them. I've gone around the market and found some of the stalls with the cheap item on them, it a bit like a bargain basement stall."

  Grikius led them out of the door into the large plaza that was full of market stalls with people bustling around selling and buying. The sun was high in the sky make the day very present as the sunrays heated up his skin. Grikius led the five adventures to one side of the market past stall full on merchandise. Ceras saw tables full of produce with a large weaved basket full of grain and pulses of different colors. Other tables had fruit on them with people shouting out the prices for everybody to hear. Ceras heard, a woman shouting to all that could hear, of a sale of a pound apple for one-fourth of a copper. As they walked further, he passed stalls selling baked good and meat of all varieties. Grikius led them through the winding paths toward another area of the market selling weapon, leather goods, and clothing. Rhef and Symania stopped every now and then to looked at some clothes on display, and as the boys tried to move them on, they got an evil look from Rhef, so they waited for them to finish browsing the clothing stall.

  At a large stall that was more like a fly market by its self, in the wider market, rather than a specialized store that only sold a quality item from craft workers, this stall seemed to buy and sell anything. Most of the item for sale was randomly place on large wooden boards or in wooden bins that people were sorting through to find something they wanted.

  Grikius said to the other adventures introducing them the stall, "This is the bargain basement of the market if you find anything you like them. I'll bargain for them all at once."

  Everybody nodded and split up to look around the stall for an item they needed. Ceras first went to a pile of clothing as he desperately needs something that fit his now large frame. As he sorted through the clothes and compared them against his bodies, he found a few shirts and trousers that fit his body. They were all old but wearable for him until he could afford something better.

  Next on his list was a better leather pack that he soon found on a table of another leather item, it was again old and battered but was useable. In the jumble of leather items, he found a small satchel for holding his magic book and so put it in the pile of accumulated items. He then went over to the book that was piled up on a table in piles and started to sort through them for anything interesting. After about half an hour of working through the pile of book, he had several rather ragged books in a small pile.

  The titles of the book were and their content was: Magical spells for everyday use, which included spell for any household chore like cleaning cloth; Beginning Enchantment of Everyday Item; The Fundamental of Magical Power; and the last book was a worn copy of some complex spells, he did not understand at the time, Ceras brought it as it looks old and like it might be useful to him in the future.

  As he had finished, he noticed that everybody was starting to gather around Grikius with the items that they had collected. Grikius, Rhef, and Rinaldo had all found better weapons and clothing. Both Grikius and Rinaldo had found bigger maces, with thick metal spikes at the end and strong dark wood handles, while Rhef had found a short sword in a leather sheath. The sword needed a bit of care and attention, but it would do for a starting. The only person who did not have anything was Symania who seemed to be happy with the equipment she already had.

  The four adventures placed down their items in four piles in front of the storekeeper who had been watching them keenly, before he could say anything Grikius said, "We'll buy this lot like one, so I want to get a good bargain with you."

  For the next ten minutes the trader and Grikius argued over the price of the goods, the trader eventually sold the items with an expression like he was being robbed and Grikius like he had to sell his house to afford all the items.

  Ceras had to only pay 50 copper for all of his items, while Rinaldo and Grikius mace alone cost 50 copper each. The short sword for Rhef was 70 copper. As they left the store, Grikius was smiling as they all still had most of their money left while Rinaldo was swinging his mace in a dangerous manner.

  Ceras said to the team of adventures, "The next item I guess is finding somewhere to stay when we are in town between quest."

  Grikius smiled and said, "When I was out earlier, I found a place that would rent two small room for one copper from each of use per night. It will be very basic, but at least it will be better than camp outside the town every night."

  Everybody seemed to agree to the arrangements, and Grikius led them down one of the small side alleys into a poorer area of the town. The houses in this section were not as well maintained, with plaster falling of section of wall and some hole in roofs. There was also a lot more children on the street running around, with beggar trying to find somewhere comfortable to stay on the street in the pile of garbage that seems to be everywhere. At the end of a small alleyway Grikius knock on a solid wooden door with paint peeling off it. The house was two stories and seemed to be better maintained than the other in the street.

  After a few minutes, an old lady came to the door and opened it to see Grikius standing there and said in a rough voice, "Good you came back with your friends. I'll show you the rooms."

  The old
woman led them into the house that had a bare polished wooden floor, with clean walls. In the Ceras view, the house seemed to be clean but with no decoration to make it seem like a home. The rooms she showed them to were the same clean but bare of any personal item. All of them would have a bed with straw mattresses and the rest they would have to provide themselves the woman told them in a strict manner.

  She said finally to the group. "I need two weeks of rent from each of you to start with."

  Everybody handed over the money which make the old woman seem happy for some time and left them to themselves.

  Chapter 7 The Spell Casting into the Night

  Ceras had quickly changed, his clothing, and put some of his belonging on his bed, and was back within the library before it was late afternoon. He was now studying the book, on how to enhancing the staff, and was writing the spell in his own magic book.

  As he was looking back and forth between the magical textbook and his own spell book, the subject started to make sense to him, with the insight being gain as he studied. He could see now how the magic was channeled down the grain of the wood into the ends of the staff to be released all at once. This new enlightenment was different from when he had studied magic before as it was all an exercise in scholarship, but with no practical application. Now with the magical class, from the goddess, he was able to move forward in his studies, which made him excited with the prospects on what he could do. One thing he did lack, he thought, was a border knowledge of the magical theory that was essential for develop his own spell. However, as it was not possible to create your own entirely new spells until you were a least a master in the wizard class, Ceras was not worried about it at this time.

  By the time he had finished the spell preparation, it was late into the evening, and the light from the outside indicated that it was dark. Ceras had not even noticed that the magical light had brightened to light up the library with all its bookshelves.

  The woman librarian was still there studying a book, so Ceras walked over and asked her a question, he said: "Hi, is there anywhere I can practice attack magic, where I won't damage anything."

  The woman smiled and said, "Good question, not everybody is so considerate. We've had people try new spells in the library before. It's always a mess to have to clean up." As she shook her head with a look of anger."

  Then she said, "There are protected rooms just of the courtyard that you can use for magical practice. At your level, you'll not damage anything."

  Ceras smiled and said, "Thanks," as he walked to the exit of the library. Soon he was at a heavy wooden door with magical wards protecting it and open it into an empty stone room filled with magical wards. The floor was sand and had burn marks as if somebody had set a fire on the floor. As on end of the bare room was a manikin used for practicing attacks, that Ceras could see heavy warded.

  Closing the door behind him with a thud, Ceras started the spell; he had memorized earlier to allow magic to run through his staff, forever changing it. Ceras sat down on the sand floor close to the door under the magical light in the room and placed his staff on his lap. He got comfortable as this would be a slow spell, requiring a large use of MP. Fixing the spell in his mind Ceras started the process of change the wood bit by bit.

  At first, he started in the center of the staff, creating a magical channel in the core of the wood and slowly, as he kept an eye on his MP level, worked down toward the ends of the staff. Once he had created the core, he now produces a network of small vein allowing the energy to move from the core to the surface, where he would place his hand or hit something to discharge the energy. When he had finished, he estimated that it had taken about half an hour to work the spell if he had more MP he could have completed in less time, but for his first attempt at this, he was pleased.

  Resting a minute to get his full MP back to its highest value, he then walked up to the dummy and tried a fire touch spell by touching it lightly with his staff. Fire immediately burn on the dummy where his staff had touched it at the base of the neck. The only thing he saw on his staff was a red glow from his hands to the contact point on the dummy. Ceras smiled to himself as he was thankfully staff did not burn to ashes. On the dummy was a marker showing the damage received was twenty-five. Next, he tried the frost touch, which again caused damage, but with a blue light and ice on the target.

  For the next hour, he tried altering the amount of damage he did and was able to control to the level he wanted. Finally, he hit as hard as he could and at the same time shot-out fire spell and got a grand total of seventy damage point from the one hit.

  As he was tired, Ceras decided to go to his room and sleep, grabbing something on the way home to eat.

  The next morning in the stark room as he lay on the mattress, he heard somebody get up at first light and start to move around. Ceras opened his eyes and saw Rinaldo starting to get ready for the day, as he was picking up his mace. Ceras said sleepily, "Where you off too at this time of the morning."

  Rinaldo smiled and said as he was hefting his mace, "Training at the guild for the whole day as were all doing stuff in town and going out on a quest tomorrow."

  Ceras sat up quickly in bed and said, "I'll come with you then, as I've had an offer to train with one of the trainers and I need to improve my staff skills."

  It was still early in the morning, just before it got fully light, as the two entered the training yard in the guild, and saw a lot of students lined up doing different exercised to warm up. Rinaldo joins them while Ceras looked for Raimond who was to onside drink something that was giving of hot vapor in the early morning cold air.

  As he was sipping the drink, he smiled as he saw Ceras approach him, and said, "Here to do some training then?"

  Ceras nodded, and the large trainer said, "Join the rest in warming up them."

  The rest of the day was them spent exercising between a session on instruction in how to use his staff for fighting with Raimond showing him different styles of movement. Ceras pick up the instruction quickly, as Raimond developed a training program for when he could not attend the training session in the yard. As the end of the day, both Ceras and Rinaldo went home fully exhausted but happy with what they had accomplished. Just before going to sleep, he thought about the experiences in the day, and the following text appeared in his vision:

  XP 9 of 11 too level 2 Wizard

  --

  Ceras woke to the sharp sound of Rhef banging on the door and saying in a loud voice to the boys, “We need to be off early for the quest I found yesterday. Pack for at least one-night camping and be out in ten minutes.”

  As the three-boy started to get up, Ceras pressed his hand to the side of the wall in the dark, as used his magic to produce a light that stuck to the wall, bring light to the darkness allowing them to prepare for the day. Within ten minutes the whole team was outside the front door as the sky just started to show the first signs of glowing red light in the horizon, that they could see across the craggy rooftops of the town. Ceras breathed in the slightly cold but fresh air into his lungs, dispelling the air he had been subject to in the room with the other boys. Rhef started to stride down the alley toward the city gate that led to the north of the city and the mountain.

  Ceras walked quickly, matching her pace, and said, “So what the quest for today?”

  Rhef said with a smile, “Will be hunting earth trolls today.”

  Quest Title

  Earth Troll Crystal Gathering

  Description

  In the foot hill mountain of the town gather Earth Troll Crystal’s (see attached map).

  Level

  4

  XP per team member

  4 per ten Earth trolls killed

  Reward

  200 coppers per crystal

  Rhef said as they stepped around a puddle of liquid in the street, that had a strange smell to it, as they walked through the poorer area of the town, “This quest of perfect it level 4 so we’ll should all be all able to get to level 2 in our di
fferent classes by the end. It will also allow me to do some tracking with a new skill that I gained yesterday.”

  Ceras looked at the excited girl beside him and said, “I’ve also got some spell to try out with a new technique, so I’ll see how that goes.”

  In a few minutes, the team of adventures was approaching the gate, that was slowly open by the guard. In front of the gates were some waiting teams of outer adventure parties waiting to be allowed out. Ceras noticed that they were a lot better dressed than his very poorly equipped party. One of the wizards was wearing magic, a talisman that seems to give off a glow of power that enhanced his spellcasting ability. The warriors in the groups were all dressed in expensive looking armor, coved in shining metal, and steal weapons.

  As Ceras team approached the well-equipped adventures, the other groups noticed the badly dressed ragtag group approaching them and sniggered to each other behindhand. Rhef turned red with anger and said to a large warrior who was sniggered, “Seen something funny, idiot?”

  The large warrior who was about a head taller than Rhef and had an expensive sword on his belt, that spoke of money in his family, said as he looked down with a smile at the Rhef who had walked up to him and was shouting in his face, “Just you lot, it's always funny to see children from the outer communities still following the old traditions, and starting of the blessing with nothing to their name. Where we from the towns and cities are a bit more advanced and get better armed before started questing.”

  Before Rhef could shout a reply, the gate was fully open, and the rest of his team were running off into the hill, so the large warrior said, “Farwell, and don’t get sent to the resurrection point to much, as it's hard to live the painful memories.” Then he ran after the other in his group with strides that spoke of magically enhance footwear.