“Little Coal,” a voice said, “Wake up, Little Coal.”
Colthorn groaned as a hand gently shook him. Slowly, he sat up yawning and, with blurry eyes, he squinted at his mom. “What time is it?” He mumbled.
“It’s about three in the morning, but the Week of Memnon has officially started. I’m needed at the walls,” she whispered.
His father, Jornan, wasn’t concerned about keeping quiet and just spoke normally, “We needed to know what Quests you got for the week. Depending on the Quest you might want to either man the shop with me or go with Mom to the walls.”
That thought woke him up. Going to the walls? That both excited him and made him nervous. He quickly wiped the sleep from his eyes and slapped his cheeks to wake up.
Wait, he thought, Why is everything red?
He looked around his room. His mom was kneeling next to his bed and his dad was leaning against his desk looking at him, but the entire room was painted in a dim red light. He glanced out the window. The sky was blood red.
“What...” he gulped.
“That’s Memnon’s doing,” Alagossa said, “He covers the world in his blood mana to summon the foulest of monsters. The sky will be red for a week, a whole ten days of the endless Blood Horde. We can’t see Memnon right now though because he’s staying away from Veca, but he’ll show up later today.”
“It’s like Nikos, except...” Colthorn said.
“Except Nikos isn’t trying to kill everyone.”
When Nikos was pulsing light, it was only seen as a small blue ring around the moon, but Memnon’s light covered the entire sky.
Colthorn could hear the distant shrieking of monsters and the faint sound of people fighting. Monsters didn’t really care about gates, they just tried to scale or fly over the wall, so it wasn’t a surprise that he could hear them. They lived fairly close to the northwestern side of the wall. People had to be placed on every part of the wall to defend the city.
Looking away from the window he looked at the small floating screens in front of him. They were the only things that weren’t red. The two Quest notifications must have popped up in his sleep.
Quest!: Defend the Wall!
Task: Join your mother up on the wall every day and defend your city.
Monsters Killed: 0/20
Days Completed: 0/10
Time Limit: 9 days and 20 hours.
Restrictions: N/A
Reward: Double EXP gained from the 20 monsters and +3 STR.
Penalty: N/A
Quest!: Supply the Wall!
Task: Your father has made and will make potions that the city needs at the wall. Deliver the boxes of potions every day to the Western gatehouse.
Health Potion Boxes Delivered: 0/10
Mana Potion Boxes Delivered: 0/10
Stamina Potion Boxes Delivered: 0/10
Days Completed: 0/10
Time Limit: 9 days and 20 hours.
Restrictions: N/A
Reward: The skill Quick Blooded and +3 Alacrity.
Penalty: N/A
"I got two Quests. One called Defend the Wall, where I have to join Mom on the wall and kill twenty monsters every day. The reward is double EXP and three Strength. The second Quest is Supply the Wall, where I have to take ten boxes each of Health, Stamina, and Mana potions to the western gatehouse every day. The reward for this one is some skill called Quick Blooded and three Alacrity. No penalty for either of them," he laughed, "That's awesome! Two easy quests and I'll get six Stats!"
"No," his dad said, "You should only do the Supply the Wall quest."
"What!?" He cried, "Why not? It's three whole Strength! And besides, didn't the gods give me this Quest because they want me to do it?"
His mom chimed in this time. "The gods give us Quests in order to give us opportunities to grow or to show us different paths that we could take. The Quests aren't commandments that we must follow, just opportunities... Well, most of the time... And that Quest isn't what you need right now, remember? That double EXP reward will certainly put you at the Tier cap and you still need to go to the Adventurer's Academy."
"Oh..."
"And not just that," Jornan cut in, "Getting extra Stats isn't always a good thing. Those three Strength will make it so that you will need to spend your Free Stats to maintain your Stat Balance instead of spending them on the Stats that you want."
"Ah! You're right! I don't want that... I'll just do the Supply the Wall Quest then."
“Good,” Alagossa said as she stood up with a sigh. She turned to Jornan. “What do you think, Honey, should we give it to him now? It’ll help him with his Quest.”
“Hmm, you’re right. And he’s already really close to Tiering up... Might as well,” Jornan said, a grin spreading across his face.
Colthorn looking from one grinning parent to the other. “Give me what?” He said, a bit of excitement building in his chest.
His mom laughed, “You’ll see. But first, you should get dressed and ready for the day... I don’t think you’ll be getting back to sleep anytime soon, huh? When you’re ready, meet us in the lab.”
With that, they left Colthorn to get ready.
<<<>>>
Not ten minutes later, Colthorn was running down the stairs and into the lab. He was wearing black pants, a long-sleeved green shirt, and his good in-the-city boots. Alagossa was sitting on one of the stools at the island counter while Jornan was sorting ingredients. They both turned to face him as he came in.
“Well, that was quick,” his mom said, “I think someone is excited.”
Colthorn blushed and mumbled, “Of course I’m excited...”
“Well, Little Coal,” his dad laughed, “You’re mom and I were planning on giving you this when you finally Tiered up, but we think that it would be best to give it to you now. You’re already so close, after all, and it will be useful to you now.”
Unable to contain her own excitement, Alagossa reached down behind the counter to grab something and held it out toward Colthorn. “We got you this,” she burst out, positively wiggling in her seat.
Colthorn slowly reached up and grabbed the dark brown leather backpack from his mom, eyes widening. It looked like his mom’s backpack.
“I-is this...” he asked.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“Yep! A spatially expanded pack. It’s not as big as mine though... only ten cubic meters, but as a Tier one you won’t be hunting anything too big. Look insi...” She was cut off by a flying tackle hug.
“Thank you!” Colthorn shouted, then quickly tackle-hugged his dad as well.
“That’s not all, Little Coal,” his dad laughed, “Look inside the bag.”
“Huh? Inside the bag?” Colthorn let go of his dad and flipped the flap of the pack open and looked inside. He reached in and started pulling things out. A Longsword. A sturdy knife. A thick belt. A leather breastplate. Leather bracers. A brown cloak with a dark green leaf pattern along the edges. Leather gloves. A bow. An empty quiver. A portable alchemy set, which was just a mortar and pestle, a small metal tripod to hold a pot, a small pot, measuring cups, and a funnel. And the last thing was a new sketchbook and pencils.
Colthorn stood there, looking at everything he had pulled out with wide eyes. The leather armor, the bow, the quiver, the cloak and gloves, and the bag... It all looked like his mom’s. Like the drawings he made when he imagined himself as a monster-slaying hero. A little alchemy set to make potions just like his dad, but small and meant for travel and rough use...
“We wanted to make sure you were well-equipped when you started adventuring...” His mom said proudly, trailing off at Colthorn’s lack of reaction.
“Little Coal, you okay?... oh, is it the alchemy set?” Jornan said, awkwardly scratching his nose. “I mean, I know that you don’t really like making potions with me. You always preferred hunting... I just thought that... If you wanted to, or if you needed to... you could make a quick potion out in the field.”
“No,” Colthorn said with a trembling lip, tears starting to drip down his cheek. “I like it... I like it a lot.” He tried to wipe the tears away but more just kept coming. “It’s just...” he was sobbing now and couldn’t quite get the words out, but he managed to choke out, “It’s finally finished.”
Alagossa swooped in and hugged him tightly. Jornan came around and hugged them both, sandwiching Colthorn between them.
“It is,” his mom said, shedding a tear of her own.
They kept hugging him as he cried, letting him get it all out. After a while, Colthorn finally stopped and let go of the hug. With one final squeeze, Jornan and Alagossa let him go as well.
“We love you Little Coal. Always remember that,” his mom said.
His dad cleared his throat, “Well, let’s get it all on and see how it fits!”
Colthorn wiped his eyes and smiled, “Yeah!”
Soon, Colthorn was cinching the sword belt tight. The leather armor fit perfectly, the sword was a bit awkward on his left hip but he’ll get used to it, the cloak was nice and warm, the knife felt perfect on his right hip, and the bow was natural in his hands.
“You look like a Survivalist!” His mom said, grinning. She was also dressed in her leather armor and had her bow and quiver next to her.
Colthorn grinned back at her.
“Well,” Jornan said with a sigh, “We all have Quests to be doing.”
Alagossa immediately groaned. “Ugh, yeah... I should go help on the wall before the Guild comes knocking. Good luck with your quest, Little Coal.”
And after a quick ruffle of his hair, she slung her quiver over her shoulders, grabbed her bow from the floor, and left.
“Come on, Little Coal, let’s get those potion boxes packed into your new bag.”
Jornan started grabbing boxes from a stack next to the door and handing them to Colthorn to pack away.
“Hey Dad,” Colthorn asked, as he loaded the last box into his bag, “Why does Mom not want to go to help on the wall?”
“Oh... Well, that’s because she thinks that it will just be a waste of time and arrows. She’d rather spend her time with us.”
“Why’s it a waste of time? Won’t she get a lot of levels from helping?”
“Well, more than half of the people in this city are adventurers, or they were one or are training to be one, so there are more than enough people to defend the wall. The only reason she’s going is because all registered adventurers are required to help or they’ll be fined according to their Tier. As for the levels... didn’t she ever tell you what her level was?”
Colthorn shook his head. He had never thought to ask.
“She’s Capped.”
“What!?” He shouted, “Since when? Why didn’t she say anything? Why hasn’t she Tiered up!?”
Jornan laughed, “Easy there, Little Coal. She’s been Capped ever since I first met her. Whenever I ask, she just says that she’ll Tier-up after another 300 years.”
“After another 300 years...” he whispered, eyes going wide. “How old is Mom?”
“Ah...” His dad looked a little embarrassed, “Well... she’s an elf...”
Suddenly, Jornan stood up straighter, smoothed his shirt, and cleared his throat.
“You should get going on your Quest,” his dad said, guiding Colthorn by the shoulder out the door, “The western gatehouse is a good walk from here, but if you’re quick you can get there and back in about three hours. I’ll have breakfast ready for you when you get back.”
“What? Wait!”
“Remember, this is the Week of Memnon. So, while it is rare, it isn’t unheard of for monsters to spawn inside the walls. If anything does spawn inside the wall it should be Tier 0, at most it could be a low Tier 1. So, be careful, keep your weapons handy, and be alert.” Jornan was already gently pushing Colthorn out into the snow covered street. “Love you!” He said, closing the door.
“Wait! How old is Mom!?” Colthorn shouted, but the door already clicked shut.
He kicked at the snow, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Fine, I’ll just ask Mom...” He said, walking down the street.
He had never been to the western gate before, but it should be easy to get there. All he had to do was make his way to the Center Square and then it was a straight shot from there to any of the gates. He’d just take the Western Road to get where he needed to be.
Colthorn shouldered his bag and took off in a run through the snow. The snow covering streets were almost glowing as it reflected the blood red light of Memnon. The only he could hear were the sounds of his own crunching footsteps and the sounds of distant fighting. The city itself was quiet. The streets were deserted.
As he drew near to the Center Square, he started seeing more people. Messengers running to and from the walls. The Center Square itself was crowded with adventurer parties coming and going and people shouting orders.
Colthorn ignored them all and just ran past everyone. He passed the roaring fountain, which somehow doesn’t freeze despite the cold, and went down the Western Street. It was an uneventful run, nobody called out to him or got in his way, so he easily got to his destination. The sounds of battle and the shrieking of monsters got louder as he approached the gate. He could see adventurers lining the top of the wall, firing bows or launching spells or using flashy skills, but he couldn’t see any monsters.
The gates were closed, of course, and right in front of them were lots of people rushing about. Injured people being tended to by medics, guards shouting orders to groups of adventurers, and runners being sent off in various directions.
There was one guard that looked like he was in charge, so Colthorn approached him.
“Excuse me, Sir,” he said.
The man finished giving an order to someone, who quickly took off running, and turned to face Colthorn. “What is it, boy? Speak quickly.”
“I have a delivery of potions. Ten boxes of +200 Health, ten boxes of +200 Mana, and ten boxes of +200 Stamina. Each box holds fifty potions. Where can I put them?”
“Oh! You can put them down right here.”
Colthorn quickly unshouldered his pack and started unloading.
“Boy, who are these potions from?” The guard asked as he was unloading.
“My father runs the store Perfect Potions. He made the potions, but I think it was the Guild that paid for them. I got a Quest to deliver the same amount of potions here everyday for the Week of Memnon.”
“Well, that is some relieving news. I’ll keep an eye out for you tomorrow then. What's your name, Boy?”
Colthorn finished unloading the boxes and shouldered his pack again.
“My name's Colthorn Leokast, Sir, I’ll be back tomorrow,” he said, and he turned around and went back home.
The sounds of battle fading as he got farther away from the wall. As he was running up to Perfect potions, he noticed something rising in the eastern sky. Memnon. Black and red like a cracked and bleeding scab, red light was pulsing off of it like a heartbeat. Its red light painting the already blood-red sky an even deeper shade. The moon looked hateful.
Colthorn gulped and quickly ducked inside.
His father had made him breakfast as promised, which he ate and promptly fell asleep. When he finally woke up, he sat at the store-front counter doodling in a sketchbook. Only a handful of people came in, but Colthorn easily helped them out. Alagossa came back for lunch but left for the wall again. The rest of the day Colthorn spent at the counter drawing and even studying some textbooks about basic math, Glanic language, history, and basic alchemy. His dad had given him homework.
<<<>>>
The rest of the Week of Memnon was Just the same as the first day, except he wasn’t shaken awake at three in the morning. He woke up, had breakfast, delivered the potions, then came back to man the store’s counter and draw and study. Alagossa was on the wall, only coming back for lunch and for the night. Jornan was stuck in his lab all day making the fifteen hundred potions for him to deliver and other potions that the guild had requested. But other than that, everything was uneventful.
He did chat a bit with Alissa and Yong throughout the week, telling them that he was finally done with training and will be taking a short break before joining the Adventurer’s Academy. Colthorn told them about his Quest to deliver potions to the wall. They were scared for him, but he reassured them that he never saw any of the Blood Moon’s monsters. Yong, being a baker’s son, got a Quest to bake twenty loaves of bread a day for the week, he said that his Quest reward will be plus four Constitution. Alissa, on the other hand, got a Quest to just help her dad in his job as a blacksmith, her reward was just two Strength. She was mad that Colthorn was getting a Skill and three Stats. They promised to get together and play after the Week of Memnon was over.
On the last day, Colthorn woke up early and quickly loaded the potions and dashed out the door. When he reached the western gate, he threw down his pack, flipped it open and unloaded the potions as quickly as he could. A chime sounded in his mind and a blue screen appeared in front of him.
Quest Completed!
For successfully completing the quest, Supply the Wall!, you have gained the skill Quick Blooded and +3 ALA
Congratulations
You’ve gained the skill: Quick Blooded!
+50 EXP
Quick on your feet, you have successfully completed the Quest Supply the Wall, delivering thousands of potions as quickly and efficiently as you could.
Passive Effect: The lower your Stamina, the faster your Stamina regenerates. Per 10% Stamina lost, +10(+0.1 per skill level) Stamina regenerated per day.
Active Effect: Use 10 Stamina per second to increase Alacrity by (Skill level)%
You gained 1 level. +1 INT, +2 Free Stats.