Waking up in the inn’s dormitory was a less horrible experience than I anticipated. I managed to get up before most others and kit up. It was time to become an adventurer!
Before I completely headed to the adventurers’ guild, I checked up on my Providence, to see if it restored overnight. It did not, but that was to be expected from what I’ve already learned about it. Whatever it takes, it seems it’s going to need more than rest.
Flebrook’s adventurers’ guild was called The Lock and Blade, and had a few groups operating out of it, as well as some individuals. That’s what I learned from Nichlas the day before, as well. It was located in the town center, close to the town hall. There was a bustling market outside on the square between the two, full of vendors and merchants hawking their wares.
The guild hall itself was 3 stories tall, one of few such buildings in Flebrook, with a stone foundation. Clearly it was meant to be able to handle something akin to outside attacks. Inside was a reception area taking a big chunk of the first floor. A good deal of basic chairs were spread about, placed around low tables with some pamphlets on them.
A long counter split the space 2/3 into the floor, behind which sat receptionists. There were 3 young women, a young man, and an older man working behind the counter. The older man and one of the women weren’t sat at the counter, but instead were taking care of paperwork in the background. Next to each receptionist at the counter was a small pile of marbles inside a bowl, which customers came up to and took a marble before sitting down somewhere.
Every time a receptionist was finished with someone in front of her, she tapped the bowl. That caused one of the marbles that came from the bowl to light up and whoever had it approached. Must be like a ticketing system for a line, except this must use magic of some sort.
The young man, on the left, seemed energetic but earnest. He was little wide, with a square face, and was talking animatedly with an adventuring group seated across from him. The first young woman, in the middle, seemed nearly related to the man, with how their square faces were similar. Everything else about them, though, was different. She was currently free and carefully taking care of some paperwork. The other young woman, on the right, was gorgeous and her bowl was significantly less full than the other two. She appeared to be good at small talk, as adventurers stayed in front of her the longest.
Thinking it over, I was torn between the man and the first woman. I wasn’t about to wait for the second woman for what seemed to be hours. After a few more moments, I decided on the first woman. The man seemed like an outgoing person, which didn’t work as well for me.
I walked up to the woman in the middle. As I got near enough to be able to take a marble, she looked up with a wide smile and narrow eyes. “Welcome to The Lock and Blade Adventurers’ Guild. I am Enet. What is your business with us today?”
“I’m here to, uh, register as an adventurer, please.”
She nodded and withdrew a sheet of paper from a drawer on her side and provided it, along with a quill pen and inkwell. “Do you need assistance in filling out the form?”
I shook my head and proceeded to fill it out. It asked for simple things like my name and notable skills. It didn’t ask for where I came from, nor who I am related to. There was an optional place for a point of contact, but I didn’t think I could’ve put anyone anyway. I handed her back the filled form.
“It is always heartening to see someone literate arrive to become an adventurer. In many cases, they go far.” She informed me as she took the form back and looked it over. “Everything seems to be in order on your form… not remains the matter of the payment. That will be 1 shilling for the production of your adventurer’s tag, please.” She took out a small tray from behind the counter and placed it on top of the counter between us.
I placed a single silver coin in it, and she took the tray back behind the counter, before carefully folding my form and placing it on top of the tray. “I will now have them processed. Please take a Turn Marble and wait until you are called, please.” She picked the tray up, with the form and took it away to the older man in the area behind the counter.
As I sat down to wait, I could hear someone whispering to me, “Psst, hey! That was bold of you, approaching Enet. Barely anyone wants to work with how strict she is. She’s just not sociable. If you hang on, good on you.” A young man, in a chain mail shirt and a blade on his belt, said and smiled to me.
I smiled shakily back and replied. “I think not sociable is in my favor. I’m not that good with people, so having someone straightforward works for me. Thanks for the praise, though.” The man returned the smile and went back to his business.
I discreetly looked over my Guide Book while waiting, having new information about Flebrook and the kingdom it’s in. Apparently, they managed to standardize coinage a while ago, with the help of dwarves and wizards. Also, it went on for a while, so I wasn’t leaving it any time soon.
Eventually, after around 30 minutes, I was called. My marble glowed a gentle purple color and I returned to the counter. There Enet was standing and handed me 2 identical tags on a string. “Here you go, your adventurer tags. You’re now officially a part of our guild. We hope you work diligently.” She took a bow to wrap up her welcome.
“Thank you… um… Enet. What kind of jobs are available for me right now? I want to get started immediately.”
She gestured to a board on the wall, “That is the request board, where we post the requests our clients bring us. Choose something and bring it over. We will consult you on your choices and should you decide it is a good fit, you will be in charge of finishing it.” She explained with a kind, even tone.
“Sounds good. Thanks. I’ll be right back.” I said and picked up a marble from her pile. I think I caught her smirking at my picking up a marble, but I wasn’t sure. At the board, I looked for the lowest paying jobs which also took me out of town, assuming they would be the easiest. I wanted something to gather and something to hunt.
The center of the board stipulated that the guild is available to buy any monsters parts or medicinal herbs brought to them, as they act as suppliers to the town for these things. They pay an even rate, depending on what is being sold, adjusted for supply and demand. I looked at the list of examples and it listed slime cores at 3d, horned wolf horns at 5d and bushels of basic medicinal herbs at 2d each. Seeing this, I supposed I wasn’t in need of any specific requests yet.
Looking back at Enet’s direction, she noticed me and tapped her bowl, causing my marble to light up. I returned without any requests but with questions. “Could you consult me on monster parts and herbs?”
Enet nodded and began, “We act as suppliers for both to the town. Monster parts are always in demand, and medicinal herbs always find a use. We aren’t picky about which herbs you bring in a given level of rarity, but specific monster parts have different prices. What were you thinking of hunting?”
“The cheapest parts are from horned wolves and slimes, so I thought about them. I am a newbie after all, and I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew.”
She smiled and nodded, “You have made a correct assumption. The cheaper the part, the easier the target. For you, seeing as you seem to be a mace and shield user, I would recommend the horned wolves. Slimes are easy targets, but only given magic or proficiency with an axe or sword. Horned wolves would be a bit more difficult to fight, but you’re very likely to only meet one or two at a time, and a mace and shield are very well suited to fighting them.” She paused for a moment, seeming to try and decide something, “I should add that horns vary in length, and thus their worth can change. We commit to paying at least 5d per horn.”
I nodded and tried to internalize the lesson, “What about herbs? How do I identify them?”
“It’s not as simple. The most basic type is a type of grass that’s relatively plentiful in the woods where the horned wolves are. A bushel should snugly fit in the circle your thumb and index finger form. Grass length plays a much smaller part in this case, so it always be the 2d per bushel. Let me get reference material for you to look at.”
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While she went to get the reference material, I covertly opened the Sheet next to my hand, moved to the Shop, and did my best to stealthily purchase Analyze. I was certain I wanted it now. It dipped rather harshly into my point reserves, but I was certain it was worth it.
New system - Analyze 1 - purchased!
Analysis now provides the following information:
Common name, highest skill, short description.
That wasn’t a lot, but it was enough. This would help me differentiate between common grass and the herbs I need to collect. Shortly after, Enet returned with the reference material and opened it to the page about the medicinal herb. It did look like a grass but had serrated edges and grew several stalks from a single point. I felt confident I could recognize it but having Analyze certainly helped that confidence.
“Should I look for material about horned wolves as well?” Enet asked after I was done with the medicinal herbs. I considered for a moment, “Yes, thank you. Better prepared than sorry and sore.”
She smiled at my comment and went to return the herb reference material. She came back with a different folder, in which was information about monsters. I skimmed after horned wolves and found them near the start. Might be sorted by difficulty in each guild. Many horned wolves patrolled on their own and alerted their pack when suitable prey has been found. If I find a patrolling horned wolf, taking it by surprise should be safe. I hoped my levels in Basic Stealth would serve me well. I thank Enet for the material and asked her to put it away as I left.
———————————————————
Before I left, it was time to get some breakfast. I put it off, somewhat as a reward, until I was done registering. The experience was a bit nerve wracking. I browsed the market in the town square and eventually picked out some cheeses and breads as a dry, cheap meal. Nichlas was right, it wasn’t very good, but at least it was cheap.
I also wanted to prepare for my jobs, so I got a sack and a length of string, as well as a basic knife. The prior for the horns from horned wolves, the latter two for tying up bushels. With all of my gear, a system for tracking my inventory was starting to appeal, but I didn’t have the points to spare.
Sufficiently well fed and prepared, I followed what the reference material said to find the herbs: head out the east gate and into the nearby woods. Finding the gate was as easy as following the street and my compass out. Getting to the woods took me around 2 hours walking, by the end of which I wished I had bought perhaps some more food at the market.
As soon as I entered the woods I noticed the medicinal herb here and there, my Analyze confirming I was looking at the right thing, so within another hour I managed to collect 2 bushels. I have yet to run into a horned wolf, though, and I rather wanted to at this point.
I walked around until my clock showed early afternoon, at which point I sat down for lunch with my rations. The dried meat and hard bread were not tasty at all, but they were filling and effective. Nearly emptied my water skin in the process, though.
While eating, a thought occurred to me, which I immediately tried out: I tried activating it constantly as I looked around, to see if it would catch onto something useful. By the time I was done eating, I had a lead! I managed to analyze horned wolf tracks! I gathered myself and got up to follow them, as the analysis’ description gave me their direction.
I kept analyzing as I walked, managing to find tracks again and again, to the point the last analysis pointed out they were very fresh. In between the trees I could see the gray pelt of the horned wolf and the shine of its horn. I ducked down and stealthy moved forward, closing the distance.
Luckily, the horned wolf didn’t notice me by the time I was a lunge away, and I analyzed it before making my surprise attack.
Name: Horned Wolf
Best Skill: Basic Bite 5
Description: a common beast to these woods. A hunter with its own weapon.
From my very nearby hiding spot, I lunged at its hind legs, hoping to smash my mace into one of them and hobble the beast. My movement had alerted it, but my surprise was sufficient. I just grazed the leg, but it was enough to injure it so the horned wolf would keep its weight off the leg.
We slowly circled each other, the horned wolf seeming ready to strike, me behind my shield. We moved closer and further, sizing each other up. I analyzed the beast and saw that the description mentioned it was injured. I was going to win this one, no matter what.
The horned wolf suddenly lunged at me, aiming its horn in my direction. I managed to bring the shield to deflect the horn with some difficulty, but ultimately the wounded creature was not getting a hit by me. As it came close with that, I smashed at it again, knocking the mace against its side.
For my final attack, I wanted to use Power Strike. I waited for another opportunity but saw the horned wolf start to turn away to escape. As soon as it did, I lunged and placed another strike on its hind parts. The mace smashed hard against its backside, crushing bones. The horned wolf was going nowhere. I came up to it and finished it off.
Horned Wolf defeated!
5 points acquired!
Oh. That changed things.
Sebastian Harris
Reserves
Health: 140/140
Focus: 165/170
Mana: 170/170
Providence: 17/18
Attributes (1)
Body 14 [10+40%]
Mind 17 [12+40%]
Magic 17 [12+40%]
Luck 18 [14+30%]
Masteries
Central Continent Common 2
Melee Combat 1
Self-Awareness 1
Spell-casting 1
Skills
Basic Camping 1
Basic Cooking 7
Basic Healing 1
Basic Healing Magic 2
Basic Honesty 4
Basic Hunting 1
Basic Light Magic 2
Basic Mace Fighting 6
Basic Mechanic 7
Basic Money Management 3
Basic Pain Tolerance 6
Basic Shield Training 6
Basic Stealth 5
Intermediate Quarterstaff Fighting 1
Techniques
Beam of Light 2
Cleanse Wounds 2
Cure Wounds 2
Healing Radiance 2
Knockout Blow 1
Leg Sweep 3
Light Orb 2
Power Strike 1
Powerful Jab 6
Shield Bash 1
Swift Block 1
Systems
Analyze 1
Character 1
Compass 1
Conversation History 0
Guide Book 1
Notifications 1
Personal Light 1
Shop 1
Points: 36
Currency: 2s 3d 1b