Akasha Vision Alert: Secret Quest Complete– Aid a Friend

Quest level: Rare

Your instinctive nature led you to helping a friend in need.

Success Conditions: Save one fire victim.

Reward: +1100 exp

Mia helped Pip take off the shreds of cloth that were wrapped around to cover her wounds. Dark purple bruises covered her legs and arms while burn marks covered the majority of her body. Pip shook her head in disbelief.

“Mia, I…” Pip started, but Mia held up her hand cutting her off.

“Let’s get going. I need to find out how far Sagev is from here.” She said as Pip pulled out a mysterious cream from an even more mysterious pouch on her waist. She smothered the white cream on her burn marks before pulling down her long sleeves and pant legs. Pip smiled briefly before taking a deep breath.

“I want to take a look around before we leave. See if I can find anythin that I can take with me. Also, I know how to get to Sagev from here. It’s a bit of a distance though. My family does a lot of business there, so I’ve made the journey from here many times. I’d say it takes around a fortnight.”

Kate huffed as Mia nodded, then looked at Kate.

“Can you find supplies and meet us back here in an hour?” She asked Kate, handing her the brown pouch full of coins.

“Oh thank the gods! No offense Pip, but I can’t do the sadness anymore. Sorry.” With that, Kate turned and walked away as fast as possible, heading down the narrow walkway from camp and onto the main road.

Pip smiled, then shook her head. “She never changes. Remember when the 6th squadron didn’t return from their raid? She avoided all of us for a week.”

Mia laughed. “She wasn’t the only one, Alex couldn’t be found for a while after that either.”

Pip turned to look at her. “I know we only spoke about it briefly last night, but how are you doing about Alex. I know you two were…close.”

Mia sighed. “I don’t know why I take it so personally, but I do. I have this sense of responsibility that I can’t let go of. Out of all the people in Neverron, those were my stepsisters who took him. My stepsisters who somehow have magic…and so do I, I guess.”

Pip nodded. “Yeah, that’s a lot.”

Mia smiled as they entered back of the inn that had not fully collapsed.

“This used to be my favorite place,” Pip said to her quietly.

Mia looked around. The enormous kitchen was completely blackened. The roof above was still intact, allowing them to pass cautiously through. Pip’s face was like stone. Mia felt the pain her friend wouldn’t show and was unable to stop her own tears.

“This is where me and me ma stayed,” Pip reminisced, pointing towards a small room tucked away in the corner. “My ba passed away a few years ago and it’s been her and I since then. We kept this inn going, along with my aunt, and so far it was going great.”

Pip pointed towards another area that was impassible due to the rubble. “That was my ba’s workshop. He was a healer and often made ointments to sell in Sagev. I tried to keep his business going, but I wasn’t as good at making the salve.” She paused then let out a weary smile, “Come on, this way.”

Speckles of sunlight passed through the small patches of stone, growing dim as they ventured further into the inn. Mia cast her fireball into her hand and saw Pip’s eyes widen.

“Interesting…” Pip said quietly as they made it to a tucked away closet on the far side of the first floor that hadn’t collapsed.

The closet was tiny. Fire damage charred most of the door, while large stones lay in front of it, blocking a clear way inside. Pip started digging through the rubble, trying to clear a path. Mia started moving rocks out of the way with her, until they were finally able to dig their way inside.

“This is what I was after last night. My bag.” She held the medium-sized brown sack gingerly against her, checking inside and smiling with a satisfied grin after. “There’s a few coin in here, in case we need it. I also have a few healing herbs and some more things.”

Mia smiled. “I didn’t know your dad was a healer.”

“Well, you would if you weren’t brooding all the time, let me talk for once.” Pip laughed as Mia scoffed in mock affront. They left the inn, rendezvousing with Kate. In a small plot of dirt nearby the inn, Pip laid her aunt and mother to rest. Mia, Kate, and Pip each placed a flower on their graves, then left through the gates of Ogden.

The path to Sagev took them out of the forest and through cavernous mountains and hills. Mia practiced her spells against the rocky stone. She conjured water whips that she flung into the sides of the hills. She practiced the strength of the magic she conjured and experimented with how much power per spell she could increase or decrease. The scale varied. By flexing her jin, she focused on pouring more of her jin into the spells. Very soon, she realized that using too much jin was not a good idea when she went flying backwards, crashing into a boulder after casting her air blast at full strength.

"Mia, I swear to the gods I’m going to ban you from magic.” Kate exclaimed, as Pip rubbed salve down her bruised back and shoulders. Mia huffed.

“I second…I can’t keep doing this, Mia. I’m running out of salve and we aren’t even there yet.” Mia stuck out her tongue as they all laughed and settled down into a cave, Mia made sure wasn’t a surprise dungeon. As Kate and Pip slept, Mia decided to check her status page and was shocked at what she saw.

Akasha Vision: Akasha Status Page.

Name: Mia Bridgewater

Race: Akasha

Element: Spirit

Core Level: 5 – 1100/8000 exp to next level.

Health: 350/350

HPR: 5 hp/s

Jin: 300/300

JRR: 5 jn/s

Power Level: Legendary

Spells unlocked: 3/7

System Inventory: 4/10

Attributes:

Strength: 10

Dexterity: 12

Intelligence:15

Wisdom: 11

Constitution: 12

Charisma: 15

Luck: 11

Spells:

Fireball – Novice -Level 3

Water Whip – Novice- Level 3

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Air Blast – Novice – Level 3

Skills:

Combat Specialist – Novice – Level 3

Sleight of Hand – Novice – Level 3

Songbird – Novice – Level 1

Spirt Mode – Novice – Level 5

Abilities:

Linguist – Language Translator - Passive

Examine – Examine magical sentient or non-sentient objects or creatures-Passive

Skill Master – Learn an unlimited number of skills-Passive

Absorb Jin – Novice – Level 5

***

They traveled through the mountains for almost a fortnight. There hadn’t been much trouble since Ogden, which Mia was grateful for. She was not too happy that she did not receive a single quest on their way to Sagev, stalling her progression in her levels. Mia grunted. It was their last night sleeping in a cave according to Pip, as Sagev was less than a day’s journey away.

The caverns were abundant. They used them as cover at night while they slept. Each took turns for night watch, making sure they weren’t followed or that nothing in the forest crept up on them. On her watch, Mia used the time to practice, noticing that even though her spells weren’t leveling, her precision and jin channeling was getting better.

She gave up, deciding to go through her sword forms. She breathed slowly as she watched Kate and Pip who were asleep a little bit further in the cave. She smiled to herself, but her warm feelings were short-lived as she was alerted by the sound of a low growl behind her.

She slowly turned around and saw the glowing eyes of a mountain lion returning her gaze. The beast leapt at her but Mia darted away quickly. She cast her fireball at the beast which made it roar in anger and rush out of the cave. Kate and Pip were quick on their feet and rushed out of the cave after it, neither one armed. That didn’t matter to Kate, though.

“I’m going around it to lure it away from the cave,” Kate said as she rushed away.

“Kate, wait.” Mia called after her before she came slunking back. “Let’s get out of here and move further away. That way we might be able to make it to Sagev before breakfast is over.” Mia said enticing her friends.

“You had me at breakfast.” Pip said as they started to gather what little they had with them.

The next day, they made their way to Sagev without stopping, not in fear of anything else attacking, but in need of a good night’s sleep. They finally got to Sagev in the late morning.

Sagev was massive, the streets of the town were full of people. Peddlers from different lands sold their wares, filling the air with shouts of “Come and get it,” to ”That’s too much!”

Kate’s eyes lit up as she saw a baker selling fresh scones at one of the shops.

“I know we have to make it to your guild thing, but shopping first. Let’s split up. You two are too slow and boring.” Kate insisted. Mia and Pip shrugged. After spending the better part of fourteen days in the wilderness, she wanted to hunt for supplies in a shop and not on the mountain floor. They agreed to meet back in the same spot by midday. Mia and Pip wandered around until they found a handy shop on a side street.

“Welcome my friends to Habib’s Extraordinary Consignments where we carry nothing but the finest merchandise.”

Mia’s eyes lit up as she looked around the store.

“Kate’s going to be sorry she missed this,” she said as she walked around the store admiring the short and long swords that hung on the walls.

“I see you have a good eye for swords,” Habib said without missing a beat, “Let me show you what I have in the back.” He left with a sweep of his robe.

“Whatever you see, you don’t want it!” Pip hissed to her as Habib left and returned just as quickly.

“Here we are, my friends!” Habib said with a flourish. His brown mustache seemed to twitch in excitement. “This is a one-of-a-kind short sword all the way from Dragon Island. It is said to even be magical. I do want to say that this sword was very hard to acquire. I can’t let it go for any less than sixteen hundred gold crowns.”

Mia’s mouth flew open.

“Now before you object,” Habib continued, “This is a very good price.” He waggled his finger as Pip rolled her eyes. Mia smiled widely.

Akasha Vison Alert: New Quest - Haggle the Haggler

Quest Level: Uncommon

You are in need of new gear and need to haggle a price.

Success Conditions: Reduce cost spent on goods by 10% or greater from base price.

Quest Failure or Refusal:+25% markup debuff on all future goods at this store.

Reward: +500 exp

Accept? Yes/No?

“What?” Mia said out loud unexpectedly.

“I assure you, miss, this is a very good price and I can tell that it was made to be by your side.” Mia smiled, observing. This time, she noticed the hesitation in Habib’s eyes. Mia used her examine ability.

Akasha Vision Alert: Warning - Examine Ability cannot be used on non-magical item.

Mia shook her head. “I’m sorry, but no, thank you.” She turned and headed for the door with Pip beaming in tow.

“Actually, for you miss, I have something better.” Habib shouted after them. “I can tell by that gleam in your eye that you are looking for something rare. This…” Habib said while pulling a long golden box from under the solid wooden table in front of him. “This was made for you.”

He opened the box and held up a gleaming green short sword that had a golden hilt with a small green gem nestled into the center. The sword was around two feet long and the hilt fit into her hand perfectly. Mia used her examine ability.

Akasha Vision Alert: Examine Activated

Item: Sword of the Favored

Class: Epic

Effect: +10 to luck

*This sword can rank.

Current Rank:1

Would you like to equip Sword of the Favored? Yes/No?

Mia held in her gasp as she set the sword on the counter. “What else do you have?” Mia asked, smiling at the shocked owner.

“What else might you be looking for, miss?” Habib asked questioningly.

“I guess mainly supplies.”

“Ahh,” said Habib, “I have just the thing.” He disappeared and reappeared with a plain brown sack that had two straps so that it could fit on her back. “This,” he said, showing the item to Mia, “…is also said to have magical properties. This bag may look small, but it holds more than you could ever dream of.” He paused. “I can let it go for six silver coins.”

Mia looked at the bag.

Akasha Vision Alert: Examine Activated

Item: Bag of Feast.

Class: Ultra Rare

Item slots: 20/20

Effect: This bag can store food items in a non-perishable state

*This item can be absorbed into your system inventory creating additional slots and abilities.

Would you like to equip the bag of feast? Yes/No?

She paused, distracted.

“I can assure you, miss, this bag is more than it seems.” Habib furrowed his eyebrows until they almost touched each other.

Mia smiled, “Three silver coins.”

Habib hesitated. “I cannot let it go for anything less than five.”

“Four.”

Akasha Vision Alert: Quest Complete

Reward: +500 exp

Habib huffed then shook his head in agreement.

Akasha Vision Alert: Skill Master Activated - New Skill unlocked Haggle

Haggle prices for the cost of goods

Haggle – Novice- Level 1-Passive

Effect: -4% to the cost of goods.

Mia grinned. Pip and Mia spent the next hour at the shop, going over Habib’s wares. They ended up leaving with three bed packs and enough food to last at least a fortnight. They thanked Habib and walked out, leaving him scoffing as they left.

Mia equipped the bag of feast into her system inventory after they left the shop. She put the items they purchased into her storage space and smiled from ear to ear. They neared the rendezvous point only to find Kate in an argument with one of the town’s guards.

“Kate!” Mia exclaimed as they ran to her.

“It is absolutely ridiculous to charge a whole silver coin for a sandwich! It’s a sandwich for gods sake!”

“Miss, please calm yourself” The guard said in a flat tone before he whistled for another guard to come over.

The other guard was twice the size of the first, towering over everyone. “What seems to be the trouble, miss?” The guard said in a deep, gruff voice.

The ground started shaking beneath them and shouts could be heard coming through the streets.

“What in the blazes?” The first guard said as both guards turned to run in the direction of a now stampeding crowd of people. The naying of horses and the violent slashing of swords could be heard from a distance. Kate, Pip, and Mia looked at each other then ran after the guards. Before they left Habib’s shop, Mia went back to negotiate the sword again.

After her skill of haggling kicked in and her charisma gave a boost to her skill, she was able to talk him down to a more reasonable price. After all, she needed something if her powers failed her. Habib was generous and threw in a pair of daggers for an additional two silvers as well. Mia shrugged. She wanted something for Kate and they weren’t magical, just shiny silver blades with obsidian black hilts. That was all of the money she had in the pouch from the guard in Ogden. Mia was not mad at the trade.

They ran down the side of a long wide road as hoards of people ran screaming in the opposite direction. They watched the two guards they were following mix into the fray of the battle as Mia watched in horror at the scene unfolding before her eyes.

That can’t be right, Mia thought to herself as she swore she saw rock boulders hurling directly at the escaping citizens. Horror suddenly dawned on her face.

“We need to find another way!” Mia said to her two friends. She suddenly made a sharp left, going down a side alley that led away from the main road. Mia kept running zigzagging through side streets with Kate and Pip in tow. Kate was in stride with Mia, Pip not far behind, trying to keep pace with them both.

“Wait,” Mia said, stopping and ducking behind a large garbage bin. She panted.

“We need to go, Mia. You know who those people are…” Kate said in a stern voice. Pip had joined her in returning to Mia and looked between the two of them.

“Who are they?” Pip asked.

“The invaders from the dungeon.” Mia replied in a hushed tone as more Akasha fought Sagev guards just ahead of them.

“Why are they here? Now?” Pip said in a low, shocked voice.

Mia took a deep breath as she looked between Kate and Pip.

“I say we help. We are still Kings Guard it’s the least we could do…” Mia said, pulling out the daggers from her system inventory and handing them to Pip.

“No need,” Pip said pulling out a foldable bow and quiver from her bag.

“Where did you get that? And what are those?” Kate asked, her voice raising to a loud whisper.

“Habib offered me an excellent price for being a loyal friend of one of his highest paying customers,” Pip said, smiling cheerfully. Mia huffed.

“I wasn’t so bad,” Mia grumbled as Pip chortled a laugh.

“Who’s Habib?” Kate said, her eyes now staring at the sword in Mia’s hand.

“I’ll tell you about it later.” Mia said with a grin, as she ran towards the nearest fight and unleashed her magic.

Pip and Kate huffed as they ran after her.