by Isaac Winter
Something still didn’t sit right with me, but she had a point. I was exhausted.
I chewed the apple and took the time to sort through all the notifications I’d missed. Hopefully they would shed light on the situation Mabel hadn’t.
> Boss Battle Complete! Killed Sprike Mother. +450 XP.
> Reward: Sprike Venom x 5, Sprike Core x 1.
> You've received a Rare Item!
Sprike Core: An orb of concentrated power. Handle with care.
The Core can be used to create powerful potions, level up your inventions, or imbue your weapons with elemental magic.
To see a full list of options, select the Core from your Inventory menu.
> Quest Complete: Ancient Ruins. +350 XP.
> Quest Complete: Seeking the Seekers II. +250 XP.
By discovering Mabel at the Ruins, you have found another Seeker in the Veil. Keep your eyes open. You never know who...or what...could be lurking out there.
> New Skill: Acrobatics
Turns out all that jumping around was useful after all!
Increased Agility for Dodge and Leap maneuvers, and it takes less Stamina to do so.
> LEVEL UP!
You are now Level 5.
Get stronger, get faster, get better!
You have 3 skill points to allocate.
> Congratulations! Now that you are Level 5, you can choose a class for your character. This will determine what sort of abilities and specialties you can use. Choose wisely, Traveler Cael.
> Your spell Weak Gust has leveled up!
Range and duration increased.
Wow, it was finally time. I pored over the class choices one last time, trying to think what would be most useful in the days ahead. My troubles weren’t over yet, not by a long shot.
> Choose your class:
Artificer: Masters of both mechanical and magical, artificers delight in taking things apart and putting them back together in new and fantastic ways. They value innovation, adventure, and most have a high tolerance for risk.
-Core Traits: Intelligence, Agility
-Example Abilities: Mechanical Knowledge, Bombcraft
-Information: One member of your party has this class. (Tris, Level 11 Artificer, Sub-class: Tinker)
Knight: Warriors at heart, these fearless heroes fight with heavy arms and armor for their chosen cause.
-Core traits: Strength, Constitution
-Example Abilities: Shield Smash, Deadly Blow
-Information: One member of your party has this class. (Fel, Level 16 Knight)
Missionary: Devoted to their chosen deity or cause, Missionaries specialize in spiritual magic, buffs, and healing.
-Core traits: Charisma, Wisdom
-Restriction: Good alignments only.
-Example Abilities: Fighting Spirit, Heal Multiple
Corsair: Fast, agile, and good in a pinch, the corsair is a master of rogueish tendencies with a penchant for ranged weapons and traps.
-Core traits: Agility, Charisma
-Example Abilities: Trapcraft, Lockpicking
Shadowdancer: - Masters of the darkness, Shadowdancers devote their life to studying the ways of magic, especially those that others don't want uncovered...
-Core traits: Agility, Strength
-Restriction: Evil alignments only.
-Example Abilities: Summon Minion, Soul Shield
Wizard: Seekers of magic in all its forms, Wizards are pure magic users access to some of the most powerful spells in the Veil.
-Core traits: Intelligence, Constitution
-Example Abilities: Corrosive Touch, Obscuring Mist
Naturalist: In tune with the natural world, Naturalists find beauty in all living things and can affect certain elements by extension. They are also excellent healers.
-Core traits: Wisdom, Luck
-Example Abilities: Nature’s Aura, Summon Sapling
-Information: One member of your party has this class. (Mabel, Level 7 Naturalist)
Still my eyes returned to that shiny Archivist class. I liked that it was a combination of magic and lore. Seemed to complement my natural skills well, right?
I thought about our party composition. Fel was clearly the tank of the group, and Tris had saved my ass more times than I could count with her quick hands and clever gadgets. Where did that leave me? What was my purpose in this world?
Heh, even in the Veil I had existential crises. Some things never changed.
Archivist was me. It was what I was meant to do. I may have been a stuffy scholar at the Academy, but this time...I would use my knowledge for something greater. For finding the answers hidden in this world. And maybe, just maybe, I could find myself along the way.
> You have selected: Archivist.
Confirm?
[Yes/No]
I selected Yes, and got a new entry on my character sheet.
Class: Archivist
Sub-class: Unknown (Choose at lvl 10)
New Abilities:
Linguistic Affinity: You can read and understand almost all written and spoken languages.
Disorient: Causes temporary confusion in target. Uses: 1/day.
Time to knock some heads.
17
After a night well rested, it was time to move on. I left the tent and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. The first tendrils of sunlight peeked through the clouds and warmth already filtered across my skin. All was silent, save for the grass waving in the gentle breeze. The ruins lay off in the distance, still within sight but far enough to be safe. I wondered what they had found, back there. I still had no answers. That seemed to be par for the course in this world. All questions, no answers.
Fel and Tris soon joined me out in the field. Tris was strapping on her day pack and organizing her vials of potions. Fel buffed out scuffs in his armor with a sleeve and what we at the Academy liked to call "elbow grease". They both looked up as soon as they saw me.
"Morning, sleepyhead." Tris beamed. "Feeling better?"
I rubbed away the knot on the back of my head and nodded. "Yeah, Mabel fixed me right up."
"I found a new lead for us overnight," Fel said. He gestured at a scroll of parchment he'd spread out on a flat rock. Rough black scratches skittered across the page in what looked like charcoal. "Now here," He pointed, "Are the ruins. The Sprikes came from this direction," He drew an arrow, "And the next clue tells us the the runes are leading in that direction too. We think the Author may be nearby. He's the answer to all of this, I'm sure of it."
"What do you plan to do once you find him?" Mabel said, stepping out from the tent and wiping her hands on a cloth. "Take his lunch money?"
Fel scowled. "We just want to talk."
"Mmhmm," She said, looking away.
"Hey, what's with her?" Tris whispered, nudging me in the side.
"Ow," I mumbled. Tris's nudges were pretty forceful, and I felt like my ribs had caved in on me for a split second. "Mabel's just grumpy from lack of sleep." I lied through gritted teeth, hoping I'd pass the Charisma check. "She wants answers as much as the rest of us do."
"Does she really have to come with us, though?"
"Yes," I said, putting my foot down. "I want her here. And I'm sure you will too, next time you get injured. She can help us all."
Tris frowned. "I can take care of myself."
"Then you can leave," I said, shrugging. "Either way, we're heading out today. Come with us, or not. It would be a shame to see you go, though."
"Whatever," She said, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I'm only sticking around cause this is the best shot I have at meeting him."
I stepped back into the tent, gathering the rest of my belongings. Only then did I allow my shoulders to slump, my breath to come out in a long sigh. I was a terrible leader. Who ever thought I could hold a group of people together? I could barely even hold my own at the Academy board meetings. This whole thing felt like a huge mistake.
Still, we had a job to do.
I eyeballe
d the newest quest and set the waypoint on my map for later. Looked like another full day of walking ahead. At least it would give me some time to clear my head.
> New Quest: The Author's Hideout.
Sources say the mysterious Author lurks near. But be careful what you wish for...when you find him, what will be the cost?
Reward: Unknown.
Accept?
[Yes/No]
Man, whoever wrote these quest descriptions sure did their best to make them all sound as menacing as possible. I shooed it away and looked again at the map. The waypoint centered on an area still shrouded in shadow to my map, but it took us further west, past the ruins, across a river, and after that? Who knew. Looked to be about a 7 mile walk. I just hoped the weather cooperated.
When I exited the tent, the rest of the party was packed and ready to go. I clumsily broke down the tent and stowed it in my Bag of Holding. I still didn't know whose it was, but I slung the bag over my shoulder and with the sun finally rising over the horizon, we set off.
As the sun rose in the sky and shone its light over the rolling hills and fertile plains, we adopted a good pace. The weather was fair: cool with a gentle breeze, albeit a bit dry. We stopped around midday to rest and wash up, and I distributed Meliae Wafers to the party.
"These taste like sandpaper," Fel said, spitting.
"Yeah, but it's either that or eat literal sand. They can buff your stats too. We ran out of real food ages ago." Mabel added while choking down the rest of her wafer. They didn't taste too great, sure, but the nourishment factor couldn't be beat.
"How much further?" Tris asked while splashing water on her face. A calm stream meandered by, giving us the chance to get a drink and wash up. The water remained surprisingly cool and clear, with smooth stones littering the bank. I hoped vainly there would be a few fish we could catch. Sadly, that wasn't the case. Nothing seemed to live in these waters. Tris grabbed a few to put in her pouch, and I did the same.
As I took a drink of the stream, a chill ran from my head to my toes. I got a new notification:
> New Status: Waters of the Traveler.
The cool, crisp waters of Lyria refresh you on your journey, and bring good tidings for the road ahead.
+2 Luck for the next day.
"Nice!" Tris said, looking at me. "Everyone, come have a drink!"
Tris filled up as many vials as she could with the water and stashed them in their bag. She handed a few out to the others as well. +2 Luck was nothing to shake a stick at, and where we were going, I had a feeling we'd need all the Luck we could get.
After a few more miles of walking, the map marker pinged to let me know we'd reached the waypoint.
> Location reached.
I looked around. There was nothing here! What a waste.
Tris came up to me, hands on her hips. "What is this about?" She asked. "Don't tell me we got the wrong coordinates!"
I winced. "Just wait a moment, we'll figure it out."
I looked at the map again. No, nothing. This was the spot. But what did it mean?
"I see something!" Mabel said, jarring me from my thoughts. She pointed, but it was just a patch of grass like any other. Unless...
I narrowed my vision and focused, looking for the hidden runes within. Slowly, like water seeping through cloth, it appeared. A giant orange rune spread across a square of grass like a spiderweb. I couldn't read it, at least not consciously, but I looked to Mabel and knew she saw the same thing.
"There's a rune," I said, gesturing to the spot. "This must be the entrance."
Tris and Fel crowded around, looking for any signs of an opening. If we hadn't seen the rune, it would have been any old patch of grass. No strange coloration, no crease in the ground. This was clearly the next clue, but where did we go from here?
"Can you read it?" I asked Mabel.
"I'm trying," She said, furrowing her brow. Finally, her face relaxed and she said in a cool, even tone: "Scientiam."
With that, the ground morphed. Grass blew aside from an unseen breeze and a rumbling like an earthquake shuddered the land. Tris and Fel stumbled backward, eyes wide. The rune glowed and then opened, four flaps rising like a cardboard box.
I'd gotten used to strange, magical occurrences by now. Mostly.
Whatever moved the ground like this had to be very powerful. I couldn't see any mechanical underpinnings. With a final jolt, the flaps of earth crumbled and a gaping hole remained, with crude dirt stairs leading downward.
"Well guys," Tris said, cracking her knuckles. "Looks like we've got a dungeon to run."
18
> New Area Unlocked: Scientiam Dungeon.
A rank smell like old fungus and wet mud wafted up from the hole in the ground and hit us forcefully. It wasn't a bad smell, really. It smelled like fire and sweat and blood. It smelled like...home.
Wait, where did that come from?
Mossy steps led down into a gaping darkness, and who knew what lay beyond? Whatever it was, this was likely to be our biggest challenge yet.
I took a deep breath and looked around at my party members. Tris rearranged things in her bags and avoided my gaze. Fel gave his axe a few practice swings. Mabel stood still, her eyes wide as she faced some unseen fear.
"Mabel?" I asked, drawing her out of her reverie. She glanced at me and smiled, a bit of blush rouging her cheeks. "Oh, sorry. Yes. I'm ready."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "You sure?"
She flicked her hair over her shoulder and straightened. "Yup, let's go." Her words tumbled out a little too quickly, a little too sure. I didn't have time to figure out what her problem was, though.
"Tris, can you give us a light?" I asked. She finally looked up from her equipment.
"Yeah, just give me a moment." She went back to tinkering with whatever was in her lap. What was with everyone all the sudden? Was I the only sane one around here?
"Fel?" I tried. "You with us?"
He had a strange, glassy look in his eyes. Dammit. What was with everyone! I inspected my stats, trying to see if there was something going on that I'd missed.
> New Status: Charmed.
The pungent spores of the Scientiam Dungeon are said to cause memory loss, trouble concentrating, and a glassy stare.
Remedy: Malian Root, a coarse brown root found in grassy climes.
Due to your Racial Bonus, you have resisted the spores. The rest of your party was not so lucky.
Clever. Very clever. It was like a burglar alarm, but for a creepy old dungeon. Choosing the Dark Elf race looked like it paid off once again, though! As for my party mates...well, what the hell was a Malian Root?
I started looking around on the ground, trying to see if I could find anything helpful. I cursed myself for not leveling up my Herb Lore skill when I had the chance. I wished Mabel were able to help. She would know what to do, for sure. We needed a Naturalist, that was for sure. And she was incapacitated. Well, no time like the present.
I scoured the ground for what seemed like forever. When I really stopped to look, the ground was littered with more than just grass. There were tiny flowers, roots, herbs I hadn't seen before.
> You have uncovered: Dandelion. If your Herb Lore were stronger, maybe you'd know what to do with it.
> You have uncovered: Sage. If your Herb Lore were stronger, maybe you'd know what to do with it.
> You have uncovered: Lestral Flower. If your Herb Lore were stronger, maybe you'd know what to do with it.
Ugh, okay, I get it! I wanted to give the finger to whoever was writing these notifications.
Still no Malian Root, though. How was I supposed to find something like that in this huge world? That's when I had an idea. We did have a Naturalist with us, after all. She surely had some ingredients on her. And maybe one of them was the one I needed.
"Hey, Mabel," I said, sidling up to her.
"What do you want?" She asked, fidgeting with a ring on her finger. "I thought we were going somewhere?"
"We are
," I explained, "But I need your help. Tell me, do you have any Malian Root in there?" I pointed at her bags.
She shrugged. "Maybe."
I grit my teeth. "Well, do you or don't you? Can you look for me?"
She spent too many dreary seconds looking through her bags, then finally pulled out a few sprigst. "This what you're looking for?"
I inspected it to make sure.
> Malian Root x 5.
Score!
"Yes, thank you. Can I use it please?"
Mabel frowned. "It took me forever to collect this stuff!"
I spread my hands in what I hoped was a friendly gesture. "Yes, but I really need it right now."
"What for?"
I sighed. How could I explain to a charmed person that they'd been charmed?
"It's a surprise. Just hand it over, and I'm going to make you something, okay?"
She eyed me, but finally extended her hand. "Okay, here."
I took the roots and started grinding them as quickly as I could. Please, let this work...
I dumped the contents into a vial I had handy and poured some of the water from my flask over it. It bubbled like broth and took on a lumpy, grey color. I didn't envy them having to drink this.
"Okay," I returned to Mabel and held out the vial. "I made you something."
She looked at me, and then at the vial. "What is that? It looks gross."
"No," I quickly improvised. "It's not gross. It's a smoothie! It's rather tasty, actually. I wanted you to try it. Can't have it all for myself, now can I?"
Mabel held out her hand, but still wouldn't meet my gaze.
"Don't worry," I added. "It's tasty, see?" I took a sip to convince her and instantly wished I hadn't. God, this stuff was vile! I forced a smile and extended the vial. "Try it!"
"If you say so," She mumbled. Mabel knocked back a swig of the potion and almost instantly her eyes grew clearer and her posture straighter.
