“Ahhh. I’m sorry, Leo. Just be glad this only cost you a few gold. Could have been much worse.”
“Uhhh. It’s pretty bad. I had all my money in my pack. It was around ninety-seven gold pieces.”
“By my Grandfather’s Beard! I thought you said he just picked your pocket. Leo, you can’t be walking around with that much gold on you.”
“Yeah. I know that now. Damn,” I put my face in my hands and set my elbows down on the table in Artus’ dining room.
My fenia friend had a well-sized home, with five bedrooms, a spacious kitchen, and two bathrooms. The bathrooms had indoor plumbing, and Artus explained to me that he was one of the first citizens in his district to hook his dwelling up to the water and sewer systems.
Artus’ wife, Urllia, hadn’t been warm when Artus first brought us home, but she’d warmed up to us after the last few days of friendly banter around the dining room table. I could tell that the dark black furred fenia enjoyed our company, and she’d check with us every morning to make sure of our meal plans throughout the day.
“Leo,” she said from her spot in the kitchen where she was cooking over a wood burning stove. “You can stay here as long as you like. Do not worry about money. Artus will help you find a job in the city.”
“I’m going to head over to the Adventurers Guild and look for work there. I just got two abilities that I think will help me find a party.”
“Please be careful, Leo.” Urllia turned away from her cooking. “From what Artus has said, you are a capable man, but the life of an adventurer is dangerous.”
“I will be. It is safer to do these things in a group.” I got up from my chair and tried to shake off my despair. In the grand scheme of things, 97 gold wasn’t a big deal. I was just angry that I had allowed myself to get duped by that half-orc again.
But he sure was one hell of an interesting NPC.
I would have thought most half-orcs would be axe wielding psychopaths in love with combat, but that guy had broken all of the usual stereotypes. It was a great design by Ohlavar’s AI, and even this negative experience was just representative of the profound and detailed world that Zarra’s team had created.
I was still going to beat the shit out of him if I ever saw him again, and the thought made me laugh a bit. I had barely even started my search for the fifteen relics, but I already had a lord of a large city and a con-artist half-orc as mortal enemies.
This game was wonderful.
“Can I come with you?” Allurie asked as I moved toward the front door of Artus’ home.
“Naw. Just stay here. I should be back in a few hours. Maybe even sooner. Just need to check the job board and tell the manager there that I’m ready to find a group.”
“Awww. I’ll miss you,” the elf said.
By the time I had returned to the restaurant with the money, Allurie had washed almost every single dish in the place. The old hag woman had actually tried to get me to sell the silver-haired elf to her, but I’d given her the money owed, and then yanked Allurie out of there.
“I’m sure Urllia will need help with the dishes after dinner,” I said.
“Yes I will!” the panther woman called from the kitchen. “I can actually use your help now, Allurie.”
“Yay!” The elf’s face turned into a smile, and she skipped into the kitchen.
Then I was out the door and walking toward the guild hall.
The sun was setting in the ocean, and the waters of the bay were glowing a bright orange. The reflection cast a golden glow on the white painted buildings of Arnicoal, and I slowed my walking a bit so that I could appreciate the beautiful city. The sights, smells, sounds, and atmosphere of the place were beyond belief, and I felt an attachment to this place unlike anything I’d ever experienced outside of my affections for the Bronx.
“I made the right decision,” I said out loud as I looked at the dozens of fishing boats skimming the orange bay waters.
I continued my sojourn to the guild hall and then stepped inside. The place was actually much busier than it had been yesterday, but I figured that was because it was almost dinner time. Most of the tables of the tavern area were filled with men and women wearing armor, carrying weapons, and yelling at each other with boisterous claims of deeds.
The room quieted a bit when I entered, and half the inhabitants turned to check me out, but they returned to their conversations a second later. I did see Wicum and Mirea sitting at a table near the fireplace with a tiger striped fenia, but the group didn’t look at me when I walked in. The two humans looked really bored, and they weren’t making much progress on their bowls of stew.
I saw Switt behind the bar helping another muscular human pour drinks, and I made my way through the packed tables so that I could speak with him.
“Ahhh. Leo! Good to see you!” the scar-faced man said as I approached. “Can I get you a beer or dinner?”
“Thanks for asking, Switt, but I’ve spent the last of my gold on a healing and protection ability.”
“You have?” the older man’s uninjured eye opened in amazement, and a few people talking near us suddenly quieted.
“Yeah. I was wondering if you could introduce me to Wicum and Mirea.”
“Ahh. Hold for a moment, let me give this beer to—” the man’s voice trailed off as he slid the glass down the bar to a half-orc. This man has skin a bit yellower than the con-artist, but he was wearing the traditional armor and battle axe that I would have expected of the race.
“Okay. Let us speak over here,” Switt nodded his head to a corner of the tavern area, and I walked with him there.
“Is something wrong?” I asked when we were alone in the corner. The man’s face looked worried, and I hadn’t seen the expression during our conversation yesterday.
“Leo, you seem like a nice kid, and I’m more than willing to do what I can to help you out, but I need to be honest with you. Wicum and Mirea are out of your league. They are experienced adventurers, and they won’t want to work with someone that is new.”
“Ahh. I see,” I sighed. “Yesterday, it had seemed that they might have worked with me if they were desperate for a healer.”
“Yes. That may be true, but I would worry about your safety. They will probably turn you down, but I am concerned that they might take you in, and then you might not ever come back.”
“I appreciate your concern, Switt, but I’m a big boy. I can handle myself.”
“I know you think you can. Part of my role here is to pair up adventures that seem to have the same amount of experience. From our talk yesterday, it sounded as if you’ve never been in a dungeon. So if I do introduce you, I will have to tell them that I do not recommend that they accept you. I mean no insult by the words, but I’ve come to be trusted here because of my assessment of individuals, so… you understand?”
“Yeah. I do, but can I share a bit of my experience with you? I am new with healing abilities, but I recently spent many hours in the underdark beneath the Laven Mountains near Cutno. I fought a bunch of giant spiders with red skulls on their bodies, I battled with a few dozen gnolbolds, and I managed to not get killed by a group of beholders.”
“Not get killed by beholders?” the man asked with a raised gray eyebrow.
“Yeah. I kind of stumbled into them, and managed to get away.” I thought about telling the man about the overseer, but Gratia’s comments about the monster made me think that Switt might not believe my story if I made it too fantastic.
“Well…” his voice trailed off as he studied my face. “I’ve made my retirement living by judging character. I feel as though your words are the truth, but I am still hesitant to recommend you to them. What healing abilities did you learn?”
“Breath of Life and Guardian of Fortune,” I said.
“Ohh. The latter is a somewhat complicated ability. Are those the only two you know?” he asked.
“Yeah. Will it be enough?”
“Sadly, no. They will prefer at least four. The Iron Cryp
t hasn’t been fully explored yet, and it is because there are just too many tough monsters down there.”
“I’m a capable warrior. Maybe I can shore up my lack of healing and protection abilities with my combat prowess?” I asked.
“That may be the case, but you aren’t wearing armor.” Switt shrugged, and I felt as if our conversation was reaching a dead end.
“Okay. I guess I’d still appreciate an introduction, even if you don’t think it is a good match. I would want to talk to them.”
“Very well,” he sighed and then motioned for me to follow him across the room.
“Wicum, Mirea, Bylem, this is Leo. He’s new in town, and newer to adventuring, but he heard you were looking for a healer or protector.” Switt gestured to me as he finished speaking.
“Well met, Leo,” Wicum sat up in his chair with interest, and I could see the three adventurers examine my clothes and sword.
“Nice to meet you,” I said with a nod to each of them. I guessed that Bylem was the tiger striped fenia. He wore a light suit of leather armor under an expensive looking silk cloak, and I saw an assortment of wand looking items strapped to his body.
“I must tell you all that I do not recommend that he join you. He is a bit too green, and lacks the healing abilities that your party will probably need. However, I do like the young man, and I think you might want to bring him along after you spend some time speaking with him.”
“Ahhh. I see,” Wicum said with a frown. Mirea’s plated shoulders slumped a bit, and the auburn-haired woman looked back to her mug of beer with boredom.
“I’ll leave you to it then,” Switt said as he nodded to me.
“Thanks, Switt,” I said as the older man left my side. I turned to the other three adventurers and spoke before they could ask their first question. “Switt is correct, I am new to adventuring, but I have real combat prowess and know Breath of Life along with Guardian of Fortune. Switt said you have all been looking for a healer or protector for a long time, and he also said that the Iron Crypt might close in a few weeks. I will pull my weight, and do my best to protect all of you.” I felt nervous pitching them, and I realized that it had been a long ass time since I had to beg someone else to join their group. I never had a problem finding people to play with me in Astafar Unlimited, and it was kind of refreshing to have to go through the “newbie” process again.
The three of them exchanged glances, and Mirea actually rolled her eyes a bit before she turned to me.
“I don’t feel like babysitting you. We do need a healer, but not you. I’d rather not go than risk my life with a greenhorn.”
“I understand that I am risky and untested.” I shrugged and smiled at the woman, “but I’m thinking that you might be waiting a few more weeks, maybe even a month, to find someone else with even my meager abilities. You aren’t making any money sitting in the tavern here.”
“There are other dungeons we can explore. Sorry, Leo was your name? I’m not going to marry the ugly guy in town just because he’s the only one available. I can be patient.”
“Ouch,” Bylem chuckled. “I’m not a judge of male human attractiveness, but Leo doesn’t seem ugly to me. At least he has all his teeth and doesn’t smell like onions. That’s not bad, as far as humans go.”
“Ha.” Mirea made a short laugh and then took a sip of her drink without looking at me. The woman was attractive, and the unarmored parts of her arm showed lean muscles when she lifted her glass. Her eyes were a bright green, and she had an array of cute freckles across her nose.
“I vote we take him. I’m bored, and he’s right about us not making any money sitting here for weeks at a time.” Bylem made a smirking kind of smile to me after he spoke, but it could have been an actual smile. It was a bit hard for me to understand fenia facial expressions.
“We could try another dungeon. That is what I’ve been telling us to do for the last week,” Miera argued.
“Cornalic doesn’t want to do anything else.” Wicum shrugged his plated shoulders.
“We don’t need him either. The three of us can make plenty of gold trying another path in the Old City or Green Cave,” Mirea explained.
“I’m bored of those dungeons, and we’ve gotten most of the loot out of there. I don’t want to spend my days looking for crumbs under the table. No one has fully explored Iron Crypt or Deep Dark Down yet. That is where I want to focus my energies. I say we bring him, and if it doesn’t work out in the first few areas, we can send him back with his tail between his legs,” the fenia said between sips of his drink.
“I agree,” Wicum said with a nod to his fenia.
“Ugh. Fine. I guess I’m out voted.” Mirea crossed her arms.
“Cornalic hasn’t voted,” Bylem pointed out.
“He’ll vote to take this guy,” the pretty woman said as she nodded to me, “and then he’ll hope he dies halfway through so we won’t have to split the treasure.”
“I don’t think that is a fair statement. Cornalic hasn’t made any comments like that,” Bylem sighed and shook his head.
“I know his type.” the woman said with a shrug, and the conversation paused for a few moments.
“Leo, you are in,” Wicum said a second before I could speak again. “If you’ve lied to us about your healing or protecting abilities, I’ll gut you in the dungeon and leave you there to be devoured by skeletons. Understand?” the warrior man’s expression hardened, and the other two members of the group studied my face intently.
“I understand,” I said as I forced as much confidence into my voice. “When do you want to meet to do this?”
“We can go now, it is dark outside, but we’ve been prepared for a while,” Wicum said with a slight smile.
“We’ll need to get Cornalic,” the woman signed. “Only the Shadow knows where he is.”
“I’ll Mind message him,” the fenia said. He closed his eyes, and his body glowed a slight blue color for a few seconds. “He answered, said he will meet us there,” Bylem said as he opened his almond shaped cat eyes.
“Leo, do you need to gather more equipment?” Wicum asked me.
“I have my weapons and a few potions. Do I need anything else?”
“We have extra food we can share, and extra climbing gear if we need,” Mirea said, and I was surprised that she gave me a ghost of a smile. It seemed that she was just prickly to people that weren’t in her group.
“Let’s head out then. This treasure needs to be found,” Wicum said as he stood. “That reminds me,” the man wasn’t as tall as me, or as muscular, but he moved with a smoothness I expected a warrior to have, and he turned to me with a balanced pivot. “Your take is twenty percent of all gold, gems, and sellable items. Magic items and the such are divided up by seniority. So I have first pick, then Mirea, then Bylem, then Cornalic, then you. Then we go around again with me.”
“What if I want to choose a sellable item, like maybe a piece of artwork, instead of a magical item?” I asked.
“That’s fine, but it is dumb since the magical items will probably be worth more,” Mirea answered.
“Okay. I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”
“Let’s get going then. If Cornalic gets there before us, he’ll moan for an hour about how we wasted his time,” Wicum said as we walked toward the exit door of the tavern.
“He sounds like a blast,” I chuckled.
“We’ve only been on one exploration with him, and… well… He is a character.” Wicum laughed and then held the door open for the rest of the group. “I’m sure you’ll get along with him.”
Chapter 13
“No. No. No,” I growled. “This fucker is your other party member?” I asked as I fought the urge to tackle the half-orc and beat his face into a pulp.
“You two know each other?” Bylem asked with surprise. We had just arrived at the base of the north quadrant of Arnicoal, walked through the cemetery there, and stopped at the entrance of an impressive mausoleum.
“Why, Leo. I must
say, I am absolutely delighted to see you again, and here of all places! This must be a lucky day for me.” The half-orc was wearing a dark green cloak instead of the gray one, and he had an array of throwing spikes, daggers, and pouches strapped to his chest.
“Shut your damn mouth. You can’t talk your way out of this.”
“I’m sensing that you two aren’t friends,” the fenia sighed.
“What is this about?” Wicum asked.
“This guy is Cornalic?” I asked the armored warrior.
“Cornalic of the Mind. At your service. If you please,” the half-orc said as he made a bow so low; the top of the knot in his hair actually touched the ground at the toes of his boots. The text about his head shifted from Arnicoal Citizen to Cornalic of the Mind with the usual shuffle of letters.
“He stole almost a hundred gold from me today, then he left me to pay the bill at The Salted Sea Bass,” I growled at the man.
“Is this true, Cornalic?” Mirea asked with deadpan words.
“I would never, ever, on my life, steal from a member of my own party. ‘Tis bad luck for sure.”
“But did you steal from him?” Wicum asked with a heavy sigh.
“Yes, he did,” I growled as I put my hand on my broadsword hilt. Everyone else’s eyes drifted down to my hand, and I felt the tension rise.
“Leo, I feel awful bad about what you think may or may not have happened at that restaurant, but I gotta tell you that I really like you a bunch, and I’d like to put the whole thing behind us. What do you say?”
“Did you steal from him?” Wicum asked again.
“Look, Wicum. Here is the thing—”
“Oh, by the Light. Here it comes,” Mirea groaned.
“You see friends, no partners, nay, family.” The half-orc emphasized the last word as he gestured to all of us. “I was born a poor, half-orc orphan. With not a single glittery copper to my name.” Cornalic moved his hand through the air and wiggled his large fingers when he spoke. “I worked every day so that I could put food on the table for all the little babies in my orphanage,” he said as he made dynamic shoveling motions with his arms. He really put his back into each movement. “And then, I still had to give ninety percent of that to the local city guards, who also ran the local gangsters. Loved ones, it was a tough life, and I hesitate to tell you about all the terrible deeds I had to do in the cause of justice, family, and life. I’ve never considered myself a thief; I’m just a humble half-orc that is trying to make his way in a confusing and scary world. I still remember all of my dear, dear orphan siblings that I took care of. To this day, their warm smiles of love bring a tear to my eyes.” The man actually ran his finger under his eye, and I could see a tear glitter in the emberbrand glow.
Lion's Quest: Dual Wield: A LitRPG Saga Page 15
