Adventures of a Scribe

by Michael Deyhim

  “Really, I will say that the place did not stink of complete shit, a rare change of pace.” Talon said.

  “The sewers are really well built, run under the entire city.” I replied. George grinned at my comment.

  “So what brings you out to Jopel, the town of dreams?” Bran said the last part loudly and everybody in the dining hall let out a shout. I still didn’t get it, but it was the apparent local custom. Talon smiled at that.

  “Traveling mostly. My last group…had quite a bit of bad luck so I decided to move on. Ran into a bunch of elves. Don’t ever get shit started with elves, those bastards have a mean streak a mile wide. Hate just about everything and won’t help you to save themselves.” He took a large drink from his mug.

  The conversation continued from there about our most recent adventure and how there was a lack of news about the large group of new adventurers that had left before us. The speculation was if they were just lost or had died horrifically. Our meals came out which consisted of steamed vegetables, bread roll, and a very small cut of meat. I got up and went to talk with Boron with things slowing down.

  “Boron, you got a moment?”

  “Hmm, what is it. Problem with the food?” He asked.

  “No, the food was great. Give my thanks to the chef.”

  “My wife will be glad. So what is it?”

  “I was wondering if you know anyone who would be interested in a map or some light runes, last about a month.” I said.

  “Hmmm, what kind of prices?”

  “Around a silver for a map and twenty copper a light rune.”

  “A bit pricy, don’t know who would want that. Figure you want to draw them up tomorrow?” He asked.

  “Yeah, you can also pass on that I am an Experienced Scribe.”

  “Really now. You should register that.”

  “Ah, the fees are quite high…” It cost ten silver to register a skill. Most people didn’t even bother until they were at the level of senior. It only mattered for people who needed to prove how skilled they were, like a scribe. It wasn’t used for unique skills but for the common ones used by craftspeople it was common.

  “I mean with the guild. We can verify skills, costs a silver but you get a small medallion with a skill symbol its level.” That price was a lot more affordable.

  “Really? How does that even work? Like contract mana?” I couldn’t help my inquisitive nature from coming through at this new piece of information.

  “Exactly. The coin is enchanted to form to what skill you call out. Most people don’t bother since they like to keep their combat skills a secret. Just our guild employs all the contract mages. Anyone else and they are charging you ten silver.” That matched up with what I knew. Joining this guild was turning out to be an even better choice than I imagined.

  “Well if you can find me work I will purchase one of those medallions.”

  “Alright, stop back here just before midday and if I find anyone I will tell you.”

  ***

  I slept in a bit the following morning which meant waking up a bit after dawn instead of before. I stretched out and went to relieve myself at the outhouse. With that done I returned to our room and began to sort through my pack. I divided up the remainder of our money from the trip and set up three piles on the floor.

  With that done I carefully sorted through everything and made sure mold wasn’t taking hold. The other two woke up and stumbled out of bed to go take a piss. When they got back I gave them their copper and repacked my bag. I took all my stuff down stairs and began writing in my journal about my observations of my skills and status.

  The main thing I noticed was that my Chant of Time leveled up a lot faster when used in combat than when I had been practicing it on my pot of grass. That was good to note. It made me wonder how one would practice Scribing while in combat. I let out a giggle trying to imagine my father trying to slay a goblin with a brush or a quill.

  Once I was done I dozed in the chair until I heard someone come up to me. “Boron, any news?” I asked.

  “The only one interested is Ternor who runs the Merchant Guild. Like I said, no one else can pay what you are asking. He does want to make sure you have the skill you claim though.” I let out a sigh and handed over a hundred copper. Goodbye sweet money, how I will miss you.

  “Don’t worry I am sure you will make it back. Just not a lot of scribes as adventurers you see and he has been tricked before.” Boron tossed me a blank copper medallion. “Now just hold that tight in your hand and state your name, skill, and level in that skill.”

  “Edward Monteger, scribe, experienced, one.” I said. There was a heat from the copper medallion and I could feel it shifting. After a bit I felt it stop shifting and Boron said I could look at it. On it was engraved my name on one side and Scribe Experienced 1 on the other.

  “Well the merchant guild is two buildings down from us. Has the most glass of any building here.” Boron said and knew which one he was talking about.

  “Thanks, see you in a bit.” I said and left after grabbing my stuff. It was a short walk to the merchant building and I entered. A thickly bearded man was sitting near the entrance looking over a number of parchments. His hair was also a bit wild, definitely different than the merchants I had seen in Azalon.

  “What do you want?” He asked.

  “Boron sent me. Said there was work here. I am Edward the scribe.” I held up the medallion.

  “So you really are a scribe. Sit, let’s talk business.” I sat in the chair in front of his desk. “Light runes, you say they work for a month?” He asked.

  “Yes, I can charge them for a month.”

  “What about others charging them?” He asked.

  “Without the skill they can only put in so much mana. So probably three days at best.”

  “Hmm, no wonder why no one sells them. You write them on parchment?”

  “Yes.”

  “Maps?” I pulled up my carrying case and opened it up.

  “I made all of these myself.” I handed them over one at a time. Three of them he told me to set to the side and the rest I put away.

  “Not bad at all. Not the best I have ever seen, but alright.” I gave him a look and he continued unabashed. “I need four light runes and I want a copy of those maps. I can supply the parchment.”

  “Fifteen copper each for the runes and a silver each for the maps.”

  “Three and sixty is a bit pricy especially with the parchment being included.”

  “Ink is pricy as well, especially knowing the right mixes so it lasts.”

  “I can supply you with ink stones. So how about two silver for everything.”

  “Now I know why this is the Merchant Guild, its cutthroat here. Three silver since I am going to have to stay an extra day in town to finish everything.”

  “Old Boron can’t be charging that much so two and thirty.”

  “Two and seventy five, my parents would be ashamed at how I am selling myself.”

  “Two and fifty.” It was less than I wanted but enough to make the task worthwhile.

  “Done, I will stop by tomorrow morning with everything.”

  “No extra day?”

  “I will just work through the night, light runes are good for something.”

  “Hah, see you tomorrow, not too early mind you. Let me unlock the cabinet.” I looked through his inventory and took parchment for his request and ground up a large bottle of ink from his supplies. With that completed I left and returned to the Adventurers Guild and thanked Boron.

  I then set up a corner and got to work. I ended up making two light runes for myself to see properly as I drew away. Some people came over and took a look and then went on their business, I ignored them as I kept working. I just finished the second map when Bran and George returned to the guild hall.

  “Keeping busy I see.” George said.

  “I have to keep in practice. Feel free to grab another table, I still have one more map to finish.” They pull
ed up another table next to mine and sat down.

  “How much are you selling them for?” Bran asked.

  “For three maps, four light runes, it is two silver and fifty copper, but I was given the parchment and ink.” I said.

  “That much, why even be an adventurer?” Bran asked as he looked at my work.

  “As fun as it is, I don’t plan to sit my life away in some back room drawing and writing things my entire life. That would drive me insane. I want to see the world, learn, and discover new things. You can’t do that in a back room scribing all day.” I said.

  “Huh, I wanted to become an adventurer so I could live the big city life and relax in my comfortable back room.” Bran said. I could tell he was grinning despite not looking at him.

  “I also like the challenge of scribing with all the background noise. Steady hand, calm heart.” I said.

  “Become a fletcher, mistakes happen all the time. This village is crap, not a decent fletcher around. I mean one of my arrows broke but the quality here is terrible.” George said.

  “Better than Fish Guts. Only an Adventurers Guild and a three room building at that. Everything else is about fishing. Nets, boats, sails, and so on. I swear I still dream about fish.” Bran shivered at that.

  “You know I read that you can get your name changed by a status mage.” I said.

  “What really?” He asked.

  “Probably expensive though, since I only read about it and never heard of one in Azalon. Probably need to go to the capital or at least the Mages Guild. I would say anywhere from ten silver to a gold piece.” I said. I had never considered a name change, but for someone named Branier Bigfish it was understandable.

  “So unfair.” Bran groaned.

  “What did you do today anyways?” I asked.

  “Walked around town, relaxed.” George said.

  “Same, but I had a spar with one of the guards. He beat me, but at least it wasn’t crushing.” Bran said.

  “I was wondering if there was anyone else who wanted to join us when we head back out on the next expedition.” I said.

  “Talon already left on his own and I haven’t seen anyone else who is a one or our age. I swear this place is a massive sausage fest. Where are the ladies, the sexy breasty warriors in skimpy outfits?” George said with a sigh.

  “So is that how they got you to sign up?” I asked. This was a hard life style and would take a hard woman. I couldn’t imagine any of the women I knew becoming an adventurer. While my sister had the spirit, she was a city girl. She would never sleep on the ground or any of the other hardships one had to endure.

  “I just heard some stories from my uncle before he passed away. There was this one about this warrior in tight metal and cloth armor with a huge bust, so the armor was curved to its shape and open at the top.” He began gesturing with his hands which I ignored to keep my eyes on the map I was drawing.

  “She also didn’t believe in undergarments either and for a cloth skirt with metal studs that went to her knees. The problem was she liked to kick a lot during combat so her skirt would lift up and every one would take a peak. My uncle said two men died that way, probably the happiest moment of their lives.”

  “I will believe it when I see it. In a dream would be nice.” Bran sighed as well.

  “I am not even asking for all of that. I just want one woman adventurer. Is that too much to ask.” George said. It probably was too much to ask for.

  The conversation continued as I kept working. Bran and George both said good night before heading to our room promising to leave the door unlocked. I finished the last map and let out a sigh. There were two minor mistakes, but nothing serious. My hand was cramping after working so long and my pride would just have to take the hit. I carefully washed out my brushes and the almost empty ink jar.

  I could easily do the runes in the morning. I left the two light runes I made on the table and went up to bed. I crashed on my blankets on the floor and went to sleep.

  ***

  I woke up just before dawn and stumbled my way out to relieve myself. I really missed indoor plumbing that went straight to the sewers. With that done I grabbed my pack and returned to the dining area where I ground up a small batch of ink and finished off the four light runes.

  “Stay up all night kid?” Boron asked.

  “Nah, just finishing up the last bit of it. Here you can keep these, should be good for about a month.” I handed him over the two charged light runes.

  “Huh, well next time you come back there will be a drink on me.”

  “Thanks.” I went back upstairs and woke the other two up. They were definitely spending all their money on ale the way they groaned and scrambled outside to take a piss. I shook my head at that. I went back downstairs and waited for them. It took a bit but both Bran and George finally dragged themselves down.

  “Never drinking that much again.” Bran said.

  “Never drinking again period.” George added.

  We packed up and left to go buy supplies. Once that was completed I had us detour to the Merchants Guild. “This should only take a moment.”

  “All done?” Ternor asked.

  “Yep, here you go.” I pulled out the maps and runes. “Do you want me to charge the runes now?”

  “Yes please.” I did that while he looked over the maps.

  “Hmm, good enough.” He pulled out a small money pouch. “Two and fifty, don’t spend it all at once.” I counted it out and it was the right amount. I nodded and we left the merchant guild. With everything done we made our way back into Gilleth Forest.

  ***

  On the sixth day we ran straight into a goblin patrol. We were both stuck in a narrow valley with steep hills on either side. Eight goblins and two wargs against the three of us. I could cast slow six times and it lasted about five seconds after each cast. I wasn’t too worried since I had my mana.

  George let lose an arrow hitting a goblin in the shoulder sending it sprawling on the ground. “I got the wargs, keep them off Geroge.” I called to Bran and moved to intercept one of the wargs. “Slow.” I gestured and then struck out with my sword a moment later. Blood poured out of the monsters neck. “Slow.” I cast again at the other warg. Two goblins moved against me but I managed to slash across the warg’s eyes before turning to meet them.

  The spell wore off and the monster collapsed to the ground howling in pain. “Slow, slow.” I cast it at both goblins and attacked them. The first one was decapitated and the second one was stabbed through the eye and into its head. I looked over and saw that Bran had killed one goblin and George another. Bran was holding off three including two with arrow wounds while a forth one chased George who didn’t have time to get a shot off and was running away.

  I rushed up behind the goblins Bran was facing and it was short work after that. The goblin chasing George tried to run away after seeing the other goblins killed but an arrow in the back and a lot of boot stomping on the face from George stopped it from escaping.

  “Ug.” George said as he wiped off his boot in a nearby stream.

  “By the Gods. That was close. You have to have some secret sword skills to go with those scribe skills. Two wargs and two goblins.” Bran said. He was giving me a look as if he didn’t know what to believe.

  “I would rather not say, but I can’t use it all that often.” I said.

  “Hah, I get it.” Bran replied as we got to work. The lack of sharing about skills was working in my favor for once. “Six shitty metal swords and fourteen copper worth of bounty. So call it twenty.”

  “You know, if we hide the corpses and set up camp just on the other side of the hill we can use this as an ambush point. We won’t be able to light a fire, but we could just camp out here as patrols come through.” I said.

  “Not a bad idea. I really don’t want to walk into another group like that.” George said as he came back over to help with the looting.

  With that decided we dragged all the corpses behind a couple of large
boulders and covered up the blood with leaves and dirt. With that done, I took up watch at the top of the hill on a rocky ledge while the George and Bran set up some snare to catch food. I was able to work on my Meditation as I lay there making sure to break it and open my eyes back up every so often.

  It went up another rank which meant I was able to regen my mana a lot faster. I really wish I knew about this skill a couple of years ago. Stupid mages with stupid secrets. I did have time mana, which was insanely over powered. I hadn’t used haste on a person yet. Despite my curiosity I was not about to try it out on a goblin.

  The sun began to set and I made my way back over the hill to where we had set up camp. George had managed to find some wild potatoes and Bran had snagged another hare. It was a veritable feast as I cooked up the meat and vegetables in my pot.

  Washing it out was simple enough and then we set up our turns at watch. It was another boring night in the forest. The next day Bran would work on setting up more snares and teach George while I kept watch. While learning survival skills was useful I needed to work on leveling Meditation and restoring my mana so I had excused myself from the activity saying I would be watching for goblins.

  They both came back around midday and we had lunch while lying down on the ledge. Nothing had come by in the morning. “This is much better than walking through the forest.” Bran whispered.

  “I agree. I enjoy the endurance and strength increase, but adventuring is not about suffering.” George said. He was definitely a city boy at heart based on that comment. I just lay there, keeping an eye out down the length of the narrow valley.

  “You hear that?” I asked. Bran and George both quieted and listened.

  “Definitely coming from that way.” Bran pointed at the way the Goblins had come from. We lay there waiting in suspense of what would show up.

  That was when we saw five people, young teens by their slightly size and lack of facial hair. They were stumbling down the valley in quite a hurry. They looked completely exhausted. I saw that they were wearing medallions. George made to stand up but I quickly put my hand on his back. “No, listen. There is more noise behind them.”