by Isaac Winter
Now that we were inside the village, my map showed more detail. The town appeared to split into five different segments, or districts. I zoomed in on the map, reading their descriptions.
Pleasure District - for all your earthly delights
- gambling hall, whorehouse, tavern
Market District - buy and sell goods of all types
- clothier, produce stand, jeweler, pawnbroker
Farmer's District - food and farming, the backbone of sustenance
- farm, granary, mill
Crafter's District - talents from all round
-Mason, Carpenter, Blacksmith, Artificer, Potter
Residential District - home sweet home
- House, Park, Temple
And of all the places we could have been skulking in an alley, we had to be in the Pleasure district. Great.
"Are you sure this is--" I started.
"Shh!" Tris put a finger to her lips. "I'll do the talking, okay?"
The door opened, and we shuffled inside.
The room throbbed with bodies and red light as we pushed past the revelers. Lanterns swung from the ceiling and mugs of ale sloshed freely, splattering on the worn wooden floor. I looked around with interest and confusion. Just what was this place? The colors, the sounds, the movement of swaying bodies overwhelmed my senses and made it hard to think.
New Area Unlocked: Fel's House of Delights
I rolled my eyes. Of course.
A busty elf sidled up to me, her eyes roaming everywhere they shouldn't. She had a wicked grin on her face and a finger cocked toward me. "Seeking a little fun, Traveler? You look tired."
I stammered and took a step back. Tired, yes, but hopping into bed with a medieval whore? Pass.
"Just tired, thank you," I smiled weakly, putting my hands up. Tris grabbed me and yanked me toward the bar, giving me a hard look.
"Don't get mixed up with them," She warned. "Your soul's worth way more than that."
"My soul...?" I wondered.
"Shh, here he comes," She hissed, and a grizzled old man stepped forward to serve us.
He looked out of place in a den of hedonism like this. Short, plump, and with more than a few scars, the man had definitely seen better days. A long beard hung down over his chest and he wore an apron across his ample frame. Dwarf. "Evening, travelers," He said in a gravelly voice. "How can I serve you today?"
Tris narrowed her eyes and put a hand flat on the bar, palm down. She folded under her pinky and thumb, so three fingers remained outstretched. "I've a new Seeker," She said in a low voice, nodding her head toward me.
The man's eyes widened and became serious. He stepped back from the bar, tilting his head toward a door at the back of the establishment. "The Veil takes its own," He intoned, and walked off as if in a trance.
"The hell was that?" I hissed as soon as he'd left.
"Shut up and follow me. He might not look it, but he's one of the most powerful people in this town. Believe me, you're gonna want him on your side once you see what he has to offer."
As we pushed through the crowd and slipped through the back door into a dimly lit basement, I just hoped she was right.
9
As the din of the pleasure-house faded away, my eyes adjusted to the light in this new room. It stunk like dirt and mold, and the stairs creaked uncomfortably loudly as I crept down them. With a sigh of relief, I reached the bottom without injury. Lamps hung on the wall, flickering with well-kindled flame, and a long table carved from a tree trunk sat in the middle of a large room. Chairs scattered around and shelves lined the back wall. My eyes widened when I saw all the loot gathered there.
Racks of weaponry, piles of fabric, and stacks of parchment lined the shelves to bursting. Glittering gems twinkled in glass cases. What was this place?
"Please, sit down." The man gestured at the chairs lining the table. Tris moved forward and took a seat first. I followed. The older man, who I could only assume was the proprietor, Fel, sat across the table from us, studying me through steepled fingers. Just who did he think I was? Who did Tris think I was, for that matter?
Finally, he put his hands down on the table. "I'm sure you must have a lot of questions. And we'll get to those. What you need to understand is that I'm here to help you. Other people in this city? Not so much. I trust Tris's judgement, and she says you're a good candidate for our little group. I'll be the judge of that, though." He leaned back in his chair casually, still surveying me. "What's your name?"
"Wi--Cael," I said. I almost slipped and told them my real name.
"Wikael?" He asked, arching an eyebrow.
"No, just Cael."
"Cael." He smiled a half-smile. "Our names rhyme, then. I'm Fel. All that ruckus upstairs pays the rent, but down here is where all the magic happens, isn't that right Tris?"
I glanced over at her and she nodded. Instead of answering my questions, now I had even more. "What do you want from me?" I blurted.
Fel folded his hands again. "Tell me about yourself, Cael."
"I don't know." I shrugged. "I haven't been here long. I'm just trying to make a name for myself, a life for myself. Same as anyone else. But I keep getting mixed up in these situations I shouldn't be in. And somehow, I still manage to get out of them." I stopped, taking a shaky breath. Was I really going to go through with this? "I've been seeing things, sir. Runes."
Fel's expression didn't change. I didn't expect it to; he had the look of a man that knew how to conceal his true intent. He studied me ever more intensely. "Runes, you say," He surmised. "What do they look like? Where do you see them?"
It was all too easy to remember the glowing orange runes shining on the floor, in the book, on my hands... They had basically imprinted themselves on my brain. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't forget them. "They're...orange. Glowing. They move sometimes. I saw them in a book first, and then they started moving. I started seeing them other places....and then I saw them when we were in prison, and, I don't know, somehow we got free."
Fel was silent for a long moment. "Fascinating," he said finally, straightening in his chair. "I've never met one with an Affinity before. I didn't think they existed anymore."
"I'm sorry sir, but what does that mean?"
"It means that you are a rare breed indeed. With the right training, you could become very powerful."
Powerful. I tasted the word on my tongue. I had been called a lot of things, but powerful was never one of them. Was that what I wanted? After all this time slaving away at the Academy, maybe what I wanted, what I needed, was a sense of control. Of efficacy. Of power.
"Teach me," I said with resolve. "I'm new, but I want to learn. Surely, with all this equipment..." I waved my hand at the weapon racks.
"I can teach you, oh yes," Fel said, grinning. "But everything comes with a price."
Well, that wasn't ominous at all. I gulped, looking around at Tris, at Fel, at all the gear in the room. This had to be better than going it alone, right?
"What's the price, exactly?" I asked, my throat tight.
Fel smiled. "Oh, nothing much. Apprentice with me for a few levels. See how it goes. What do you have to lose?"
I eyed him warily.
"Stick with me, kid, and you'll be a force to be reckoned with."
There it was. The hard sell. Here goes nothing. Fel stuck out his hand and I shook it.
"Deal."
"Now one of the first things you'll need to learn about being an adventurer is that it's not all guts and glory. Some of it's real shit, so listen up. Agility and a critical mind can outlast a strong arm more often than not. And with your Affinity? They won't stand a chance." Fel babbled away as I followed him through the shop at the back of the room. My eyes lingered on a green cloak and a shining bone dagger. We passed a shelf full of gears and metal components like the ones Tris used. We even passed by a full rack of heavy armor.
"Now I know you're not level 5 yet, but there's no reason you can't start thinking about your class progres
sion early. Do you know what classes are available here in the Veil?" Fel blinked at me expectantly, as if I should know that kind of thing.
"N-no," I stammered. "I was interested in that myself. What are they?"
"Read this," Fel said and handed me a book. "It'll teach you more about classes than you ever wanted to know."
I continued to follow Fel through the stacks and opened the book to peek inside. It had old, faded parchment paper like the book I'd found way back at the Academy, and it smelled faintly of vanilla.
Classes in the Veil
Table of Contents:
1. Classes
1.1. Archivist
1.2. Artificer
1.3. Knight
1.4. Missionary
1.5. Corsair
1.6. Shadowdancer
1.7. Wizard
1.8. Naturalist
Interesting. I of course latched on to the word Archivist at the top of the page, as it had been closest to my profession in real life, but Shadowdancer sounded awfully tempting. I tore my nose out of the book when Fel started talking again.
"There will be time for all that, just put it in your bag for later." Fel grinned at my sheepish expression. "You have a love of knowledge, that much is clear."
"I've always had a weakness for a good book," I admitted and slipped the volume into my bag.
"Good, good," Fel said. "That will help. Now here we are: let's get you some starter equipment, hmm? Can't have you running around in those rags."
Finally. "I don't have much money, though," I started.
He held up a hand. "Say no more of it. You come as a special recommendation from Tris, and I trust her enough for that. It's nothing fancy, but a set of starter armor and a couple weapons would do you well."
"Thank you," I said finally.
"Now your race, the Drow, usually specialize in more Agility-oriented roles, meaning that they tend to use quick attacks and lighter armor. You can of course, level up your skill points in other ways to suit other playstyles. I knew a fearsome Drow Knight once. This is a good starting point, though." He pulled a package off a shelf and handed it to me.
Wrapped in burlap and tied with twine, it appeared to be a collection of materials. Did he just keep this stuff laying around? I thought idly.
"Go on, open it," Fel said with a twinkle in his eye.
I pulled on the twine and the bow fell apart, opening the package.
> You have found: Light Armor Starter Set.
Contents:
1 x Leather Cuirass
1 x Leather Boots
1 x Leather Greaves
1 x Leather Gloves
1 x Leather Helm
Set Bonus: Wearing all pieces of this set gives +1 to Agility and an bonus +10% Armor Rating.
"Don't worry about all those stats just yet," Fel said. "Just go ahead and put it on. I'll wait."
At first I balked. He wanted me to just change clothes, right here in front of him? He saw my confusion and said, "Just select the garments and they will equip automatically."
I selected each of the items in turn and they formed against my body like a second skin. I gaped. "This is amazing. How did you know my size?"
"Perks of living in the Veil. Adaptive wardrobe technology." Fel said and turned a corner.
Who knew a change of clothes could make such a difference! I definitely felt the weight of the armor, but it wasn't much. The other physical effects were much more interesting. I felt...safer, somehow. It must have been from the Set Bonus. I checked my character sheet and noticed that my Agility had indeed gone up 1 point. Nice!
"What's next?" I asked once I'd gotten suited up.
"Weapons, of course."
I followed him and we passed the racks of weapons I'd seen earlier. I longingly stared at the expert craftsmanship, but I told myself that would be more of a long-term goal. I couldn't expect to get a badass weapon to start out with.
"Here you go," Fel said and handed me another package. "I try to provide a variety of basic weapons so you can see which suits you best."
This package was much larger and heavier in my hands. It smelled of old shoe polish and metal.
> You have found: Basic Weapons Starter Set.
Contents:
1 x Iron Dagger
1 x Wooden Bow
10 x Basic Arrows
1 x Iron Sword
"That should do for now, right?"
I placed the items in my bag and smiled gratefully. "Yes. Thank you so much." I felt so much better having some weapons and armor on me now.
"I'll be around if you need anything. Tomorrow, we begin training, but now? You look like you could fall over where you stand. No offense."
I nodded. "You're not wrong. I've been through a lot recently."
"I've got some guest rooms in the back. They're not much, but they'll do for the night."
I shook Fel's hand. "Thank you, again."
"Any friend of Tris is a friend of mine. Especially one with an Affinity." He winked and tottered off down the hall toward a bedroom.
I returned to the main chamber where Tris waited. She was busy reading a book and looked up when I arrived. "Well?" She asked. "What all did you get?"
"Just some starter stuff," I shrugged. "Say, you know where I can get some food around here?"
"Here," She said, sliding over a platter. "Grabbed it from upstairs while you were talking with Fel."
I couldn't stop myself. Meat, vegetables, gravy! I took a large bite out of the turkey leg, nearly groaning with how good it tasted. God, I was so hungry. Was all food in the Veil this good? Tris watched with amusement.
"Say what you will about the Pleasure District. They have excellent cooks."
I nodded through a mouthful of food.
"And yes, I grabbed you a beer, too." She rolled her eyes and handed over the mug from behind her back.
"You're wonderful," I said, taking a long swig.
"Don't say that too loud," She warned. "You might actually start to believe it."
"Seriously though. Thank you."
She shrugged. "Least I could do. And this isn't all selfless altruism, you know. That Affinity of yours is gonna make you very powerful one day. And I know just which side of that I want to be on. Call me selfish, but helping you out helps me too."
I took another sip of beer. "Whatever your reason, I appreciate it."
"Enough of that," She said, sliding off the table where she'd been sitting. "Let's head to bed, shall we?"
I nearly choked on my beer and sloshed a bit down my new leather armor. "Together?"
She burst out laughing, doubling over as she caught her breath. "Oh, oh God no! I'm sorry...did you think? There's two rooms, Cael."
My face felt hot and I knew I was blushing. "Right," I stammered, knocking back the rest of my drink. "Sorry. It sounded like you meant something else."
"You are tired," She teased. "The washroom's that way, and the bedrooms are down the hall. See you tomorrow bright and early for training."
I noted a hint of mischief in her eye, but couldn't decide what it meant. "Good night," I said, and she wandered off.
"Wake up, you sorry lot! Up, up, up!"
I groaned and opened my eyes. The door rattled as someone beat on it repeatedly, sending a jagged spike of pain down my temple. God, what time was it?
"Time's a-wasting!" The voice called again and the door clattered so loudly I thought it might fall off its hinges.
"A moment!" I yelled, my voice raw. The knocking stopped for a blessed second and I heard footsteps heading away. Finally.
I pulled on my armor as quick as I could, still getting used to the sensation of it forming around my frame just by selecting it. Luckily, my HP, Mana, and Stamina had restored during the night. I had a feeling I was going to need them today.
I rubbed the grit out of my bleary eyes and opened the door to find Tris and Fel standing there. "Bout time you showed up, sleepyhead." Tris chirped, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "You
missed breakfast!"
I groaned. Great. I was gonna get the shit kicked out of me, I just knew it. And I was gonna do it on an empty stomach.
"Well, come on then." Fel ushered me along. "Bit of a late start, really, but we'll just have to make do."
"What are we doing, exactly?" I said, running to keep up.
"Training, of course." Fel approached an old, dusty orb, about basketball size. It sat on a wooden podium and looked like it hadn't been touched in sometime. "On my count, place your hand on the orb, Cael."
Tris gathered around the orb and outstretched her hand.
"Wait, what are we..." I started.
"Now!" Fel bellowed, and I placed my hand on the silver orb as the world swum around me.
> New Area Unlocked: Seeker Training Grounds. Please wait...
10
> New Area Unlocked: Seeker Training Grounds
> Quest Complete: It's a Training Montage!
+250 XP.
> New Quest: It's a Training Montage II
----------------------------------------------------
Finding a mentor was only the first step.
Level up one combat ability to level 3 to proceed.
Accept?
[Yes/No]
Did I have much of a choice? I thought, and selected yes. My feet touched down on soft grass but my knees still buckled. I groaned, wiping off my pants as I got up.
"One day you'll get used to it," Tris called, and I scowled at her teasing. I was tired of getting teleported places without being prepared!
