CHAPTER 5: AN OFFER YOU CAN'T REFUSE
"You do realize that your amnesia story doesn't hold water, do you?"
Arcanis did not visibly react to Thomas' statement and instead kept staring at the stars. After about a minute of silence he finally replied. "I am aware."
Another minute or so passed in silence before he continued. "A nice team you have put together. Like the Tow kid." another short interruption, followed by a short chuckle "Probably the only one that fully bought it."
"Yeah" Thomas answered calmly. Arcanis was able to hear the nostalgic smile on Thomas face without turning around as the warrior continued "wish I could get that innocence back."
"It's a one-way road, as far as I know" Arcanis replied, his own dark memories weighing on him. With a tired gesture he flicked a stone into the creek's water.
"Can't tell the full story." Arcanis turned to face Thomas as he continued "All I have to offer is this: Whatever happens, there is no political hassle that follows on my footsteps. Bring neither war nor pestilence either. Quite the opposite, my own interest is to stay as far away from any of that as I can manage."
They looked at each other in more silence until Arcanis continued after a bit. "The only way to change that is for me to tell my full story.
"So I won't"
* * *
Thomas looked at the youngster that posed such a confusing puzzle. Thanks to his advanced 'Night Vision' skill and the two moons being rather full that night he was easily able to see the eyes, for the first time fully unguarded. Only one word came to mind.
Ancient
Thomas had seen a lot of experienced men, either hardened, numbed or broken. None of them could hold a handle to what he saw in these two blue orbs. A shudder went through him that had nothing at all to do with the dropping temperature.
Makes a man want him to keep up his acting.
Making his decision he finally nodded and replied "I suppose that's good enough for me then."
Arcanis nodded back, not at all surprised.
"One question though, boyo" Arcanis raised one eye-brow at that, but kept his silence otherwise "How did you know I would accept this answer?"
A slight grin stole over Arcanis' face "You obviously already accept at least one other fake story. Figured you would accept this situation, preferring to take your measure of a person over whatever their past may hold."
* * *
They were woken up by a delicious smell shortly after dawn. Ricardo, who had caught the last watch, was already busy, working on a breakfast soup.
They spent breakfast with cheerful banter of no substance, until finally all were done and Maria and Ricardo looked pointedly at Thomas, conveying a meaning Arcanis was unable to decipher.
Taking his good time, Thomas obviously let their frustration build before he finally followed their demand, cleared his throat, then looked at the aspiring wizard.
"Well, as you probably figured out boyo, something is up." a short pause "You likely noticed our surprise last evening when you cast your spell. Or that people capable of spellcasting are rather ... rare."
Arcanis nodded at that.
"Soooo ... another fact you should be aware about before we go deeper into this is that health thing." Thomas scratched his head before continuing "Why don't you check your status and compare your current hitpoints with what you had yesterday evening?"
Arcanis did as suggested
HP: 122 / 165
"huh ... recovered ten points during the night"
Thomas nodded at that. "Sleep usually gives you about half your Constitution score in health. With magic healers being virtually unavailable, most Clerics requiring sizeable donations, potions being rather expensive, healing herbs being rare and not all that effective and alchemy being the probably most annoying and expensive skill to raise ... let's just say that health recovery is the most common bottleneck for adventuring teams."
He looked at the young man. "Well, given all that, we do have an offer for you ..."
* * *
With the book on his lap, Arcanis sat at the front of the wagon, next to Ricardo, who had caught coachman duty. He was lost in thoughts, tapping on the book's cover with the fingers of his right hand while his thoughts churned.
It was again a sunny day and during late morning they left the forest behind without any further incidents. The trees were replaced with rolling hills, fields, villages and pastures. They attracted curious children who ran along the wagon as they passed through the villages. Some of their parents tried to draw their attention, apparently wanting to buy from the presumed travelling merchant, but Ricardo only mutely shook his head, continuing without stopping.
Shortly after noon, they passed over a last hill, unveiling a huge valley, with a major river in the middle. The entire valley was heavily settled, many villages visible in the distance and most of the valley covered in fields. But the most prominent feature was definitely the large city in the center of it all.
From their vantage point they could easily see above the large, solid walls into what looked like an impressive medieval city. It sported a higher, inner ring of fortifications, enclosing - judging by the architecture - the richer part of the city, including a central keep. The far side of the city was open to the river, with plenty of docks and shipping visible, even at this distance.
The sight finally shook Arcanis out of his thoughts. Drawing breath he turned back to the wagon and shouted "What the heck, I'm in!" Then turned to the front again, opened the book and started reading.
Spellbook: Healing Touch
This book contains the knowledge of the Spell "Healing Touch".
You have 2 spell slots remaining.
Warning: Using this tome will consume it!
Do you want to learn this spell? (y/n)
Yes. Arcanis mentally confirmed and the book started glowing, the pages turning by magic, faster and faster. Finally, some energy seemed to enter him and a mental *ding* sound rang.
The book turned to ashes, that were then picked up by the gentle breeze.
Turning inwards, Arcanis called upon the Spell List and the System complied.
Spells
* Firebolt*
* Healing Touch*
* -
He drilled further down to the new spell's details
Spell: Healing Touch
Cost 25mp Complexity 10 Cast Time 2.5 seconds Range Touch Healing 10 HP Attributes Crystallized
A simple healing spell that requires little understanding by the user.
It cannot negate much damage and is too weak to play a critical role in combat, but it is a useful tool to help with recovery from wounds while also helping the beginner mage to get used to the flow of mana.
Curiosity peaked, Arcanis touched his own chest, unable to suppress a flicker of excitement at the new spell.
"Healing Touch"
He felt some tug at his insides, a feeling he associated with consuming MP. His hand started to glow faintly, but it faded right away. Other than that ... nothing.
Swiftly checking his own health, Arcanis got confirmation:
HP: 122 / 165
No change. Oh joy, looks like I get to figure out how this spell needs to be used all over again.
After a few more failed and frustrating attempts, he was no further in solving this mystery, but had at least earned some non-helpful chuckles from Ricardo and something more tangible from the System:
You have raised the skill: Magic for Dummies to level 2
+1 Power, -2% Spell Cost of Simplified Spells
Not even touching the bandages on the wounds directly had led to success. Thinking on his options as he let his mana recharge, Arcanis decided to take things to the next level. Maybe some human experimentation is in order.
So, once his mana was ready again he turned to Ricardo, who was busy navigating the wagon over a supposed street in dire need for maintenance. Thus he was caught slightly unaware when a grinning wizard's hand approached him and ...
"Healing handdd!!"
Surprised in the last moment, Ricardo tried to dodge the hand reaching for his shoulder. With the sudden evasive movement he accidentally passed on a signal to the horses who obeyed and did not dodge the pothole, shaking the entire wagon ... and incidentally throwing off Arcanis' aim.
Rather than hitting the shoulder, the glowing hand scraped the uncovered neck of their coachman. And the energy discharged from Arcanis hand straight into Ricardo.
"What the hell! Arcanis, give a man a warning!" The startled ranger shouted at Arcanis, giving the young man a glower.
"Sorry." Arcanis looked down, somewhat chastised.
"Look, I know you've been frustrated getting this to work - and I do appreciate you trying to figure this spell out, given that we'll be spending the next months together - but talk to us before doing things. It's communication that makes or breaks a team out there."
Arcanis nodded at that. It has been some time since last I needed to actually ask permission first. "Aye, I'll do better."
However he swiftly changed his expression back to one of concentration, thinking over the difference in that last cast. "Can you check whether this last cast made any difference? This one felt ... different from the others."
Ricardo's eyes unfocused as he checked his status before returning to Arcanis with a grin. "It did indeed change things. Slightly. I now have four more hitpoints than I should have." The thumbs-up that followed appeared to be a rather universal gesture of approval.
"Try it again." Ricardo demanded, now knowing that this actually did not do any harm.
"Healing Touch" Arcanis tried again, this time hitting the non-dodging shoulder without issues.
Well, other than that the spell did not take once again.
So it was not because it wasn't me. Hm, what was the difference between the two cast? They felt exactly the same other than the final result part ... Thinking back over the accident slapped his forehead, realizing one minor difference.
Trying again, he simply touched his left hand with the right as he cast "Healing Touch". This time things worked as intended and he felt the energy pass into his body, flowing from his left hand to his nearest wounds. His body started tingling a little bit as the energy swiftly diminished until all was gone.
So what I really need is skin to skin contact, huh?
Checking his status again he noticed something curious:
HP: 134 / 170
Where did I get the five extra max hitpoints from?
"Oh, your hitpoints increased?" Arcanis had not realized he had spoken his thoughts out loud before Ricardo chimed in.
"Yeah" he answered "Before I got my last level in my casting skill, I had a hundred sixty-five, now it's five more. And all that skill is giving me is a point of 'Power' for now."
"I see. Don't know how your magic skills work, but the hitpoint formula is pretty well known at this point. It's basically the sum of your Strength, Constitution and Resilience times five minus hundred." Ricardo paused to spit out the piece of whatever it was he had been chewing on for a while before he continued.
"Given that you already have the first two attributes unlocked, that means one of the two unknown attributes the skill offers is probably Resilience."
"Even though I don't have it unlocked yet?"
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"Yeah. You gain all points from your attributes, even if you can't see 'em yet. And some give some of their other benefits before unlocking them, too."
Arcanis raised an eyebrow at that before asking "So, if they give their hitpoints right away, what does Resilience exactly give you when unlocked?"
The ranger shrugged before answering. "Well, then it will also add its value to your energy points. Heck if I know why you get an advance on your hitpoints.
"Other than that, it already gives you a benefit to your energy resistance and ability to defend against mental manipulation. When unlocked that gets a lot stronger though." He added another pause to grab another herb from the pouch on his belt and put it in his mouth before he continued.
"We guess unlocking the attribute doubles its impact on that defense bit, but numbers are a bit hard to get as other factors are also important for many of those calculations."
* * *
They drove on in silence while Arcanis kept casting the spell until his health was again fully recovered. Removing his bandages he found his wounds all closed and gone, the crusted over blood the only evidence they had ever existed. This earned him another level in his Magic for Dummies skill.
After getting approval, he continued by working on topping up Ricardo's health as well.
This continued in amicable silence until Arcanis got another welcome notification shortly before reaching the city gates.
You have unlocked the skill: Healer!
Healer (Level: 1) [Magic]
"Force destroys, compassion conquers."
You have found the spark that brings solace and comfort within you.
The gift to mend the woes of others through the force of your mind, tempered by the compassion of your heart.
Wield it well, so that you may be the source of joy in those you meet.
And beware of misusing this gift of life, for terrible is grace betrayed.
+1 Mana, +1% Power of benevolent healing magic effects
* * *
They were not the only travelers trying to gain entry through the gate. The gate was manned by a sextet of guards that were inspecting all traffic, searching wagons, demanding toll. They were being thorough about it and thus the line progressed only slowly.
After a few minutes Thomas stepped out and came to the front, silently replacing Ricardo. He then nodded to Arcanis before speaking up.
"Best also get back inside. Your clothes will draw notice and the guards don't know you. Easier to not bother them with those details."
The warrior's expression darkened for a moment "This is going to be bad enough to explain as it is."
Arcanis nodded and moved to the back, the space inside the wagon cramped with the rest of the team, the bodies and the goods. Fortunately, the bodies had not yet started smelling.
They spent more time in silence, the wagon rumbling forwards occasionally. This continued for about a quarter hour more before finally Thomas was challenged. Arcanis could not see the guards, sitting in the back, but by the voice it sounded like a large man in a mean mood.
"Look at that Marvin!" a short interruption, probably filled with some grand gestured judging by the dripping sarcasm in the guardsman's voice. "These look like mister Lasandro's horses ..."
"You don't say Rudger," another unfriendly voice added in an obviously overacted accent "and here I thought I had spotted mister Lasandro's wagon. That 'L' logo is quite distinctive after all."
Joining the act, the first guardsman - Rudger apparently - too adopted the same accent maybe pseudo-noble? as he continued their posturing. "And yet, no sign of the distinguished gentleman do I spot. Most deplorable indeed."
"Oh cut the crap Rud!" Thomas sounded rather angry as he interrupted their theatrics. "You gonna wave us through or do I need to knock some sense into that empty cave you call your head?"
The Guardsman chuckled darkly "Tom, Tom, Tom, can't beat up a Guard now, can you? I would sooo hate having to take you in for attacking the Guard. All the paperwork would hurt my poor hands after all ..."
"Hah! I'm sure they'd rule that either Just Cause or Divine Justice and set me free within minutes."
The other Guardsman chuckled at that, probably not improving his colleague's mood, who testily snapped at Thomas. "Alright, cut the crap, was it? What happened to the old man? You were supposed to friggin' protect him and the lad, so where are they?!"
Thomas sighed before answering. "They're in the wagon. Their bodies anyway. Returning their remains, the wagon and the goods to the Widow."
"What happened?"
"Goblin ambush on the return leg. In the Rewlar. You know how the old man insists on driving his own wagon, his boy at his side. By the time we could react the two were pincushions."
"Damn. Deserved better. Well Tom, go on in. No Charge - you're in enough trouble as it is over the contract. And facing Margit."
Some heavy steps sounded before the wagon rolled on. They passed through the thick city-wall, and the sound atmosphere changed. What had before been some background buzzing sound turned into loud city noises, merchants hawking goods, kids shouting, wheels rolling along, people talking.
After a few minutes of that, the wagon stopped and Thomas shouted towards them "Ricardo, can you take the kiddo, get him some more suitable clothes and deal with the lodging as usual? Going to return to Arthurio's and you know the dragon can't stand you. Now probably even less than usual."
"Can do" was all that the ranger answered before jumping out of the wagon and nodding Arcanis to follow.
* * *
The Mithril Needle was a large shop and workshop on one of the main thoroughfares of the city. Based on the goods shown, it appeared to mostly deal with regular clothes and leatherwork, but very little with leather. Its proprietor - a woman called Samantha - was not around, but one of her assistants took care of them and a short time later Arcanis found himself wearing a new set of clothes, a mix of light brown and white.
Ricardo paid for them and they were back on the busy street, steadily making their way riverwards. While there were a lot of people passing by, they were barely impeded - Arcanis noted that people appeared to go out of their way to make space for the small ranger, if not the scrawny aspiring wizard at his side.
"How come people are actively avoiding you? Any dark past or fell deeds I should know about?"
Ricardo chuckled as he answered "Dunno ... does burning orphanages count?" the grin making it obvious that he was not serious "Silly jokes aside, that's pretty much the common fate of adventurers, heroes of the people! Grand deeds, grander tales and the undying respect and gratitude of the common folk!"
He waved expansively at the people around, some of which giving him a stink eye. "Seriously though - and I know that's a high bar for me to take - people can usually detect adventurers on sight, based on their build and gait." he pointed at a pin he had placed on his chest piece "I helped that detection along with the pin and the armor. City-folks see that, they give you space and try to not get involved." he shrugged unhappily "Safer that way. Did the same myself as a kid."
Arcanis pondered that for a few seconds before responding "Bad reputation, huh? Must have been some incidents I suppose - especially when returning after a stressful adventure and then unwinding with a few mugs ale more than they really should."
"Yeah." the ranger nodded in agreement "Mind you, most adventurers are decent folks, but ... alcohol, a sense of superiority and a Strength of two hundred are usually a bad combination."
After that they continued in silence for a bit before starting with small-talk. Arcanis learned that both Thomas and Ricardo were Erfurt natives. Maria was a bit of a riddle, but wandered into the city from who knows where one day, struck an on-and-off-again kind of relationship with Thomas. Currently off. Tow they picked up on one of their recent escort missions, a village boy who 'had the Spark' of adventuring. Shinji apparently was a traveler from far away. They thought he was on some kind of spiritual journey for ... finding himself? Enlightenment? Wisdom?
Who knew? The man did not talk a word when a grunt would do after all.
* * *
The inn they ended up in was called The Traveler's Rest, which had been a grand place to stay at for the wealthy. Possibly. A century ago. What remained of splendor past were mostly faded paintings and some other décor in dire need of maintenance.
A second look however revealed that while the fancy trimmings were horribly battered, the actual items that mattered were simple and solid. The commons room held massive oak tables, ancient but still immovable, the chairs no less robust and the bar was built from one solid slab of stone.
They barely managed to walk down the three steps leading down to the level commons floor before they were greeted by a deep, booming voice. "Well look who the fates brought back through my doors! And alone! The old man finally kick my favorite shorty off his team?"
Ricardo grinned at the ... stout man that had appeared behind the bar. The man looked to be in his fifties and was built as if somebody sawed off a small mountain and attached legs and arms.
He filled out most of the space behind the bar, the roof barely large enough for him to not have to bow.
The ranger ambled towards the bar and climbed onto one of its stools before responding, grin on his face the entire time.
"Seamus, you old pirate, they still not hang you?" the two grasped hands - Ricardo's completely vanishing in the massive man's - and a mug of liquid - ale? - was placed in front of Arcanis' guide.
Ricardo chucked down half the mug, sighed contentedly, then finally continued "The rest of the gang is still around, no worries. They sent me ahead while they are dealing with ... the aftermath." a short sip on the mug before he continued in a lower, less animated voice "Escort mission gone bad."
The barkeep nodded in silent understanding before nodding to Arcanis. "Picked up another boy while at it, did ya? Even younger than the Tow kid." he cheerfully grinned at Arcanis "My condolences, boy. Those fellas are bad news ... even if they are one of the premier adventuring groups here in Erfurt."
Leaning back a bit he eyed the young ... apprentice adventurer? "So, what's your poison, boy? Old enough to drink yet?"
Arcanis grinned at the older man "The name's Arcanis, and ale will do just fine." ugh, keep forgetting this new body is still so bloody weak "But keep it on the light side - bravado aside, I just don't have the stats yet to handle something too strong."
Seamus nodded at that, respect in his eyes. "Uncommon to see a brat with good sense! One watered down ale coming right up!" matching actions to his words, a mug was soon placed in front of the aspiring mage.
He took a sip, followed by an appreciative sigh. Just the right thing after a day on the road. Gotta toughen up to be able to drink the real deal.
Seamus turned back to Ricardo "So, same deal as usual?"
"Not this time, oldtimer. We're looking to probably staying around for three months this time. Sooo ... three doubles and food on the long-term conditions."
"Hmpf. You'll just be hanging about inbetween dives, are ye? Well, no skin off my nose so long as you got the coin. Not the greatest worry with your folks though, so I suppose you do you and that'll do."
The mountain of a man turned around, picked some things up from the wall at the back, before passing three keys to the ranger. "Second floor, first node."
* * *
After finishing their ale they took the stairs and checked out their rooms. The layout was ... curious, not something Arcanis had expected.
The first door led into a small commons room, furnished with simple seating, a table in the middle and some empty tables at the walls. Three more doors led away from this room.
"A curious layout. Are all rooms in this place like this?" Arcanis asked.
Ricardo nodded slightly "Most rooms are arranged like this here. The place caters to adventurers almost exclusively. That means everything as cheap as possible, so there is little comfort. In return, they focus on the core essentials we need. The only place in the entire city that has a shower, even if it is a communal one.
"Most adventurers stay with their teams. After some time, family connections become rather strained usually. So we have some minimal cabins for sleeping and a common room where the team can hang out together. Also easier to keep a watch up, instead of having to watch each room individually."
"Are you saying there is an active danger for adventurers. People mess with you?"
"Not in the traditional sense, no" Ricardo denied "We do get some creative burglars sometimes, and often enough teams have made enemies among their fellow adventurers. Officially, doing anything drastic about it is as illegal as you would expect, but if there's no witness ..." he sighed, his expression indicating a rather dark memory.
"That said, mostly it's about familiarity. We are so used to have to be wary in the field, being able to keep that up here is almost a comfort. This layout is also great for teams talking about their plans without being overheard, sooo ... yeah, works well for most teams."
* * *
The rest of the team arrived about an hour later, obviously unhappy. After unwrapping and everybody made use of the shower, they gathered back in their commons room.
Thomas gathered them around the central table before opening the meeting.
"Alright folks, since we split up, let's talk about the contract first. We officially failed the escort mission. Both the Guild as well as the bereaved family agree that the cause was misfortune beyond our control, so we have been cleared of any accusations, but obviously don't get any pay."
"As the purser ... let's just say we could really use some good news, fiscally speaking." Maria took over "We still have some margin, but it's getting slimmer. We have two more months of operational reserves, so this plan better work out."
Thomas nodded at her before picking up again. "There you heard it. Which leads us to the next part." He pointedly looked at Arcanis "As per our deal, we've got three months of healing from you. With that we hope to maximize our dungeon time, grind skills and earn money through loot or natural resources found.
"I noticed that you already tried out the spell while on the road. Figured out how to make it work? Will it do the job?"
Part of their deal had been the spellbook Arcanis had used on the wagon. These apparently were a running joke amongst dungeons - at least if they were sentient, which they were not, and have an actual sense of humor, which they also lacked. Dungeons routinely dropped spellbooks containing beginner spells, that almost nobody could use.
"Yeah, managed to make it work." Arcanis answered "That said, given the health numbers you all are bound to have, it is going to be mostly pointless in combat, unless I manage to give it a major boost somehow."
The ranger scoffed at that "You sure can say that. Healed a total of four points per cast."
The aspiring wizard looked at that, thoughtfully "Hm, on myself, it heals for about fifteen hitpoints per cast. I can cast about six spells every five minutes or seventy-two spells per hour."
"Which at four points per cast means about a regeneration of two-hundred eighty-eight hitpoints." Thomas continued the calculation, looking thoughtful. "Well, that's already one heck of a lot better than what we had before, but improving it would be great.
"Alright, that seals it. We promised to train you up as an adventurer as part of our deal Arcanis, and it looks like we'll need to do that anyway to get the maximum benefit out of you for our side of the deal." he established eye contact with Arcanis "Ok, the others already know how I operate, but you're new to it, so here we go.
"When planning our actions, we usually split the plans into four different buckets: Strategic, Long-Term, Mid-Term and Short-Term. Our strategic goals here is getting stronger and richer while avoiding trouble, especially with the nobility.
"To realize this, our key long-term team-target is to comprehensively advance our power. This resolves to individual long-term training plans, that each of you slackers discuss with me and I discuss mine with Maria. We don't know enough yet to build one for you Arcanis, which is putting information gathering on our list of Short-Term goals.
"Mid-Term goals for most of us individually is reaching specific skills at specific levels. For the team in its entirety, that's most of our missions, such as the failed escort just now.
"Short-Term is anything that happens within the next week and what is needed to keep us going within that time-frame."
Arcanis nodded at that listing. Not the most complex and flexible solution, but ... hey! Adventurers that actually plan their planning!
"Well ..." Thomas continued "... our immediate Short-Term goal for you must be figuring out what you need to grow your magic potential, especially the healing. The Mid-Term goal is raising your stats to a sufficient level to allow you to come along with us into the dungeon. That's probably going to take about two weeks, but will significantly improve our ability to do sustained dives, opening the deeper strata that offer maximum profits.
"Until then we're going to split our days into two segments: Training and diving. In the morning, we train the hell out of you to raise your physical stats and raise some survival skills. You'll also keep healing us during that time to help recover from the dive the day before.
"In the afternoon, we will be diving in the dungeon and you will focus on two things: Training anything that helps you with healing and otherwise shores up your Mana and Power attributes. Target here is a minimum of twenty-five, which you need to get the Adventurer class. I suppose with your personal career goal, you will go way beyond that though."
Ricardo grinned at that "A great opportunity to pick up a hobby. Most adventurers pick up one or two, initially just to get the stats, but ..." he leaned back, grinning at Maria, obviously thinking about something particularly interesting, given how she pointedly ignored him. "... yeah, for some of us it really sticks. For example, ... hey! you could pick up cooking! I'm sure Martha wou-"
"Enough, Ricardo" Thomas interrupted. "I am sure Arcanis gets the picture and can make reasonable choices himself.
And not ones driven out of your desired to skip that role."
He nodded at Arcanis "Anyway, that's the plan for the immediate future. Starting tomorrow, anyway."
"Not a single day of break?!" Maria interrupted dejectedly, before mumbling "Slavedriver."
Thomas smirked at her, before shifting his gaze to the rest of the team "Well, you lot have the rest of the day free." Looking straight at Arcanis "The two of us are going to visit an old ... acquaintance of mine that can help with setting you on your wizardly path."
Dark chuckles that went through the team at that, causing Arcanis some concern.
"Don't worry" Thomas continued with a smile that would have made a shark proud "It won't hurt ... much.
Probably"