“So, I guess this place isn’t as peaceful as it first appeared,” Jace chuckled. “This town might be like a wild west town and Blackmane’s the sheriff. He probably lets the little stuff go, but anyone who breaks his rules, he comes down hard on.”
“Apt analogy,” Diana gave him an impressed smile. “I didn’t realize you youngsters even knew what the wild west was.”
Jace gave her a look of mock indignation. “I’ve seen westerns on the old vidstreams.”
“Really?” Diana raised an eyebrow. “I thought those were on the censored list.”
Jace felt his checks grow warm but gave her a toothy grin and a wink. “I must have seen them at a friend’s house.”
The older woman gave him a knowing look. “A friend’s house, huh?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“I have seen westerns,” Mika blurted out with a smile. “We can watch them in Japan. With Japanese subtitles. They are very popular. Especially Clint Eastwood.”
Exchanging looks with Diana, they both gave her an impressed look. “Who knew our little Mika would know about westerns.”
“They do not ban as much of the old vidstreams in Japan,” she told them. “We can still watch many of the things English speaking countries cannot.”
“So, you get to watch the stuff the censors won’t let us watch anymore,” Diana noted. Then she smirked at Jace. “Except for Jace’s friend.”
Jace felt embarrassed but he knew there was no reason to. He was no longer a part of the real world. Did it really matter that he pirated old vidstreams or that he liked the pre-censorship era? He’d never get to watch another old vidstream. Now, all he had were his memories.
He thought about it. Actually, memories were all he had. In fact, that was all he was now. He was all of the real Jace’s memories up until the point when the brain backup had been made and inserted into the game.
Not for the first time, Jace felt a strange sense of disconnection and loss. Knowing he could never go back into the real world again made him feel hollow. Like he wasn’t real anymore. Of course, he wasn’t real, but sometimes it hit him harder than others. He wondered if those people who had been inserted when they died felt the same way.
“Jace?” Mika said and he started. “You okay?”
Forcing a smile, he nodded. “I’m fine. Just thinking about everything we need to do.”
Happy to change the topic, he went down a mental list he’d been keeping. “One, we need to repair the ship. Two, we need to get you both level 10 gear. Three, we need to see if there is a mages guild or some place I can buy the level 10 spells and also see if we can find a prayer book for Diana.”
“Oh,” Diana cooed. “That’s right. I should be able to cast new spells… or prayers… or whatever they’re called.”
“They’re called spells for mages,” he told her. “And prayers for priests. But they’re all basically the same thing - just a different name.”
“What about changing our names again?” Mika asked. “Won’t that help prevent Damian from finding us?”
“It would.” Jace shrugged. “But I don’t really think there will be a place around here to do that, but we can ask around.”
He remembered their bind point in Lasthaven. “Actually, our first business should be to find out if there is a graveyard and then change our bind point.”
“Are we sure we want to be bound here?” Diana asked, casting a dubious glance around the strange town. “Is this where we really want to respawn?”
“If Blackmane’s prohibition on things includes assassination, this might be a good spot to regroup,” he said. “Plus, the lack of players may be in our favor.”
“That much might be true,” Diana conceded. “But then what? We hitch a ride on one of the pirate ships? Could we trust them to deliver us safely?”
“Maybe,” he frowned. “Or maybe we just pick on where the sailors are all the same level as us and if they try anything, we take them out.”
“And then what? It’s not like any of us can sail a ship. Certainly not alone.”
“Good point,” Jace nodded.
“What about your ring?” Mika asked.
He’d told them about the ring earlier and its ability to teleport them. “We could use the ring to get back to one of the cities but once we use the spell, we’d need to approach another player to refill the ring.”
“Is that risky?” Mika asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. “It would be risky for Damian to place a player bounty on us, because that can be traced back to him. If support is looking into him - and hopefully they are - then I doubt he would want anything that leads back to him.”
“But we wouldn’t know for certain,” Diana reasoned. “Until it was too late.”
“Right,” Jace said. “And I’d rather not take that risk unless we absolutely have to.”
“Fine, fine,” Diana said. “But that means trusting pirates.”
“Maybe,” he said. “Or maybe other ships dock here as well. If it comes to that, we can go ask around.”
“So, we are binding here?” Mika asked.
“It looks like it,” Diana sighed.
“Unless either of you have any other objections,” he said.
When neither of them voiced any objections, he looked around. “I wonder where the graveyard would be on this island?”
Chapter 23
It took them an hour to find the graveyard. He’d considered asking for directions, but he was from Philadelphia. Jace knew the dangers of asking shady characters for directions at night. They were just as likely to be given directions to an ambush and get mugged as they were to get actual directions. And since all the characters on this island were shady, he didn’t risk it.
They finally found the graveyard northwest of the town, in a cleared out patch of jungle. All three of them set their bind point to the island and then went back into the city. In their efforts to find the graveyard, they discovered that there was no regular market, or player auction.
Jace assumed this was because the island was not actually part of any faction. In a normal city, the player auction market contained items for sale from that faction. Without a home faction, the player market had nothing to display. Instead, all items were in the black market. Which made them more expensive, of course.
Luckily, level 10 gear was relatively inexpensive. Even with the markup, it was still reasonable. At least, for normal gear. Unfortunately, it seemed like most of the regular gear they could purchase all came in pirate fashion. He guessed because players hunted pirates in the area, so there was an excess of it in the local market.
Mika bought a set of leather armor that looked more like a pirate wench’s outfit than a suit of armor, yet it afforded the same protection. She seemed to like the look, and he had to admit that the outfit did look better on her than the bulky armor she had been wearing. She also found a magical serrated katana, which was more than the entire set of armor, but which she had to have.
“I am a pirate ninja now!” she said, holding up her katana. Jace examined it and had to admit it was a nice upgrade. She no longer had a bleed effect but the extra damage from the serrated ability would help her penetrate more armor.
Serrated Katana
Type: Two-Handed Sword
Level: 10
Damage: 21 + 3 (Sharp) + 3 (Serrated)
Wt: 4 lbs
Special: Penetrates 3 armor
Description: Originally created by the gnomish blacksmith Glesi Wrenchsprocket as part of a steam-powered weapon, the serrated katana blade was later adopted as a standalone weapon by other smiths.
Diana, meanwhile, found armor that looked to Jace to be of gnomish design and had a very steampunk vibe to it. Despite the short shirt and low cut blouse that came with it, the armor value granted by it was the same as normal leather armor for level 10.
She pouted when she couldn’t find a wand in her price range, but did find a staff.
Gnarled Mage Staff
&
nbsp; Type: Staff
Level: 10
Damage: 6 + 3 (Arcane)
Wt: 7 lbs
Special: Reduces cost of all spells by 1 mana.
Description: Warog Mekok, a feared ogre magi from the badlands, subdued a village of goblins during the Ogre wars and took this staff from their tribal shaman. He lost it at the same time he lost his hand to a troll’s axe.
“Nice staff!” Jace complimented as she showed it to him. “It will help with mana, as well.”
“Yes, do you think it will reduce the cost of the priest spells?”
“Good question,” Jace said, trying to remember anything he’d read about mage and priest items interacting. “Only one way to know for certain and that’s to try it out in a fight and see.”
“Or you could cut yourself and I could cast a healing spell,” she said.
“Maybe later,” he rolled his eyes. “Did you find any prayer books with level 10 prayers?”
“I did,” she sighed. “I found one for the level 10 healing spell. But it’s 5,000 gold.”
Jace whistled. That seemed high for a level 10 book of prayers but higher level healing spells could make the difference between life and death if they ran into something else like the ninjen. “I’d get it. It cures twice as much as the level 1 heal and if we run into anything like that ninjen boss, we might need it.”
“Okay,” she told him. “I’ll get it. I can’t get higher mage spells yet, right?”
“No,” Jace shook his head. “You have to be level 10 in that class.”
“Should I switch back to mage?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
He considered her question. Healing was important and it didn’t appear that Mika would be changing back anytime soon. She seemed to enjoy being a melee fighter too much. That only left Diana. “No, I’d stay a priest for now - if you don’t mind. I think we could use a healer more than a mage.”
“That’s fine with me.” Diana smiled. “As long as I’m not getting pummeled, I don’t really care what I am.”
He chuckled at the older woman. Apparently, she would do whatever it took to avoid pain. Not that Jace liked pain, but he knew he had to deal with it. Diana wouldn’t even summon her own familiar, because it was painful. But to each their own. He wasn’t about to judge her.
With the two girls taken care of, they began to look for items for Jace. One item jumped out at him immediately. He found a more powerful armored ring. Considering his recent encounter with the level 30 ninjen, he thought extra Defense was a good investment.
Armored Ring of Drarx
Type: Ring
Level: 10
Wt: .1 lb
Special: Provides +3 Defense
Description: Forged by the goblin jewelcrafter, Zruitzeakz, as a gift for the young prince Drarx, it was lost when the prince’s hand was bitten off by a rabid dire wolf.
“Jace!” Mika called out enthusiastically. “What about this?”
Hurrying over to the stand she was in front of, he looked at the item she was pointing at.
“It’s a buckler. It says fencer. Didn’t you say you got the Fencing skill as part of the Swashbuckler class?”
Reaching her, Jace saw she was pointing to a buckler. Surprisingly, it was only a 1,000 gold and he checked out the description.
Fencer’s Buckler
Type: Shield
Level: 10
Armor: 6 + 3 (Masterwork) + 3 (Sturdy)
Wt: 3 lb
Special: Fencing abilities which use mana have their cost reduced by 1 mana.
Description: This enchanted buckler was crafted for the dwarven great fencer, Muhrdamdorm Sternbrew. Renowned for his fencing, he was equally renowned for his gambling and lost the buckler in a game of knucklebones.
He was surprised it was so cheap until he remembered he had never heard of the Fencing skill before he’d switched to Swashbuckler. It was possible the Swashbuckler class was the only one which had the skill. If that were the case, there wouldn’t be any demand for something that reduced Fencing abilities. Feeling lucky for a change, he purchased it and replaced his existing buckler.
Next, he looked for better armor. Jace already had level 10 armor, so there wasn’t much to improve it without buying magical gear. He didn’t find anything that justified spending the money.
“What about this?” Diana asked. Jace examined the armor she indicated.
Sea Captain’s Coat
Type: Chest Armor
Level: 10
Armor: 4 + 3 (Masterwork) + 3 (Sturdy)
Wt: 3 lb
Special: Protects the wearer from extreme heat and cold. Keeps the wearer afloat if they are in water deeper than 10 feet.
Description: Originally commissioned for the Whitecliff naval officers, these magical electric eel-skin coats became so popular that sea captain’s everywhere began ordering them.
“It’s better than what I have now, but I’m not sure the abilities are that useful,” he replied.
“But it will look good on you,” Diana insisted. “Very dashing.”
“Dashing, huh?” Jace asked and eyed the captain’s coat. “Fine. It is a little better than what I have now.”
The jacket was leather armor instead of plate mail, so he bought a pair of plate reinforced boots to replace his leather boots. That put him back at three pieces of plate armor and three pieces of leather armor, so he got the bonuses from his abilities. After that, they left the black market and found their way back to the ship. Colette was waiting impatiently for them near the gangplank.
“About time you came back!” she huffed. “They want 38,000 gold for repairs!”
Jace frowned. He had no idea how much a ship cost, but 38,000 gold seemed like a steep price. “Why so much?”
“Because they’re thieves!” she said. “Filthy little parasites!”
“Can the repairs wait until we get to gnomish territory?”
“Maybe. There was damage to the keel from the ninjen. We might make it. Or we might not.”
“And by ‘not make it’ you mean sink?”
“Aye captain.” She smiled. “I mean sink.”
“So, we can’t really afford to not get them done,” he told her.
She eyed him but relented. “No, not really. But it’s still robbery!”
“Is there another shipwright we can go to on the island?”
“It won’t matter. They all have the same rates.”
“What? No capitalism?” Jace smirked.
“No. The rates are set by Blackmane.”
“Let me guess, he gets a percentage of the rates.”
“Of course, it's his island.”
Jace shrugged. “If we have to get it done, then we have to get it done. Who do I pay?”
Colette blinked. “You’re going to pay it without getting money from the crew?”
“It’s my ship, right?” he asked her. The game had said it was his, but he wasn’t sure if that carried over into the minds of the crew.
“Aye, she’s your ship,” she said warily.
“Then I pay the bills,” he said. “Isn’t that why the captain’s supposed to get an extra share or something?”
She gave a slight nod. “That’s the prevailing theory, but not too many captains put that into practice.”
“If we get into a fight to take loot and the damage happens during that fight, then the cost of repairs should come out of the loot before we divvy it up,” he told her. “This incident happened when we were on the high seas. That makes it my responsibility.”
“Aye,” she agreed. “I think the crew wouldn’t argue with that, especially since I think most of them may have spent their share by now.”
“Really?”
“Aye,” she said. “The ale is cheap, but the brothels aren’t. But they are clean.”
“Brothels, eh?” Jace asked. It did make sense, even in a real world sense. Sailors who were cooped up on a ship would want to take care of all of their needs once they hit land. And apparently
, that little bit was built into the game AI as well.
“Thinking of using their services?” The first mate grinned.
Jace tried to stop himself from blushing in front of his first mate, but felt his cheeks grow warm. The first mate looked behind him at the two girls and gave him an apologetic look. “Sorry captain, I forgot you already have two wives. I guess you won’t be using their services after all.”
Jace cleared his throat. “No.”
He looked back to see Mika with her arms crossed over her chest and Diana staring at him with a smile and a raised eyebrow. He cleared his throat again, anxious to change the subject. “Who did you say I need to pay again?”
Chapter 24
The shipwright was easy to find but was closed by the time Jace and the girls arrived. Jace glanced at his gnomish timepiece and was surprised to see how late it was. “Geez, it’s 10pm already.”
“Really?” Mika asked. It was nighttime, but the entire town was lit up with torches, usually on multiple levels. The effect was a warm illumination that seemed to permeate the area. Added to the various noises of merrymaking, Jace guessed it must truly be a town that never slept. Like a college town back in the real world.
“Yeah,” Jace confirmed. “We’ll need to come back tomorrow.”
Diana looked around. “So, what do we do until then? Other than bar hop.”
Mika fingered her new katana. “Is there something we can do to get more experience?”
Jace scratched his chin. “Good question. There should be something here to kill. Every location generally has some monsters to kill. There are probably even some quests here. We just have to find them.”
“That alone could take all night,” Diana complained.
“Maybe not,” Jace said. “I have an idea.”
After leading them to several bars and inns to check with the innkeepers and bartenders, they found out there were monsters to kill on the island. On the outskirts of the town, near the water, there were some sort of crab people who regularly attacked the buildings on the fringe of town.
The group retraced their steps back to the graveyard and then down to the water. As they got close, they could see the crab people coming out of the water and form groups of two or three and then heading off towards the town.
Veil Online - Book 3: An Epic LitRPG Adventure Page 15
