Astrid made it back to her room at the inn after her practice session with Birgitta and Villads. The hot, humid air felt suffocating, and she quickly went over and opened her window, hoping to get some fresh air inside. This allowed the noise and smell of the street to seep in, but it was still an improvement.
She dropped down on her bed and looked at the quests and tasks she had to complete.
For school, she had to decide what she wanted to do for the harvest festival. Apparently, it was expected that everyone in the city would help out with something. She had asked Brigitta about what she should choose, but her answer hadn’t helped much.
Something you’re good at that does not give experience in skills outside your focus area and that aren’t beneath or above your status.
Astrid sighed. While she didn't care much about keeping her skills within her specialty area, her peers certainly did. If she chose something outside the few selected skills she used for her combat magician classes, her classmates would disapprove, maybe even ostracize her. She couldn’t risk losing her new friends. However, she had only attended a couple lessons so far, so she doubted she could be considered good at it.
Then there was the question about her status. What even was it at this point? She was an orphaned refugee, but despite that, she attended a fancy school for some of the richest kids in Largon. Where did that put her? Did that make her status high or low or something in the middle?
To make matters worse, she would also have to find something her adult persona could help with. Here she also had to consider her status and what skills the task used. Then she had to ensure the tasks didn’t take place at the same time.
She sighed again. Sometimes pretending to be two people was difficult, and there was still some time left to make a decision, so she could ask Brigitta for help tomorrow.
That reminded her that principal Gertrud wanted to speak with her about the incident. She would deal with that tomorrow as well.
Then there was the Devine book of deception, which she still had to read. Although this was a straightforward task, it was still something she dreaded.
Do it for the quarterstaff, she reminded herself as she pulled the book from her bag and flipped through it until she found the place she left off.
*
It was late afternoon the next day when Astrid found herself standing outside the principal’s office mentally preparing herself for the meeting. After training with Villads and Brigitta, she had left school just long enough to change into her adult persona unnoticed before returning.
The school day had been uneventful, and no one had tried to kill her. Ruben had kept his promise and left her alone, not even looking in her direction. Hopefully he would keep doing that, as she didn’t want to deal with him anymore. She still felt like he had gotten off easy, but there was nothing she could do about it, so she let it go. As soon as this meeting was over, she could put the whole incident behind her.
Figuring it was pointless to delay any longer, she took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Gertrud’s voice sounded from inside the office, and Astrid went inside.
“Sigrid said you wanted to speak with me,” Astrid said as she sat down on the same chair she had occupied yesterday.
“Yes, that’s right. How much did Sabrina tell you about what happened yesterday?”
“She said another student hit her with a spell.”
“Ah. That’s a bit of an understatement,” Gertrude said and continued explaining every detail about yesterday’s event. Astrid tried to pretend it was the first time she heard the full story but had no idea how well she had succeeded.
"Alright, thanks for telling me,” Astrid said after Gertrud finished her story. “If that's all you wanted to talk with me about, I’ll be going now.” She stood up and went to leave, but Gertrud called her back. Apparently, the meeting wasn’t over after all. Astrid suppressed a sigh as she sat back down.
“Aren’t you more concerned about this attack? You're sister could have died.” Gertrud gave her a stern look that made Astrid wish she could sink into the ground.
“Of course I’m concerned, but Sigrid is fine. Besides, she already accepted the compensation, so I was under the impression that nothing more could be done.”
“It’s true that the case is settled, but I’m not so sure Sigrid is fine after this even. She’s only alive because she has more health than kids her age should have, and I can’t imagine the traumatic experiences she must have had to get to that point.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” Astrid said.
“I don’t agree. Although Sigrid doesn’t show any signs right now, that doesn't mean she isn’t struggling with some mental health problems. If those are left untreated, they could have severe consequences.
Astrid tried to wrap her head around the principal’s concerns. Sure, a lot of horrible things had happened in the past few months, and it had been difficult to keep her spirits up, but that didn’t mean she needed help. She was fine. She could manage. As she didn’t respond, Gertrud took the opportunity to continue speaking.
“If I were you, I would take Sigrid to the temple of medicine so they can evaluate her and come up with a treatment plan. It could help her better deal with everything if she had a professional healer to talk to.”
The last thing Astrid wanted was to talk to the healers about her life. She also doubted it would work as she had to hide some things and lie about other things. There was no way she could be open and honest like she had heard this kind of treatment required. Still, completely dismissing the suggestion would not satisfy Gertrud, and Astrid needed to do that to get this meeting to end on a good note.
“I guess I’ll talk to Sigrid about your suggestion, and if she wants to go, I’ll take her.”
*
Astrid left the room feeling relieved at having crossed another item of her to-do list. The next step was to finish that stupid book Sham had given her. As soon as she entered her room at the inn, she found the book and continued reading. She had gotten through most of the remaining part yesterday, so now there were only a few chapters left. These covered a skill called deception magic, which seemed to be magical versions of several of the other skills she had learned.
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The last chapter described a divine protective barrier that only those who followed a god got access to. It seemed quite similar to the barriers surrounding temples that prevented monsters from entering the holy grounds. However, it was only as powerful as the rank bestowed upon the caster by the god they served. As a follower of deception, Astrid held the lowest rank. If she ever became a priestess or high priestess, the barrier would be stronger, but she had no intention of getting promoted. Being a follower was bad enough. Still, the barrier could be pretty useful even at her rank, as it didn’t have a continuous mana cost like other shields did. Once the barrier was cast, it remained in place until it had taken too much damage to sustain itself.
After finishing the chapter, Astrid closed the book.
Quest from the god of Deception complete
Read the Devine Book of Deception
Reward: a divine quarterstaff
Excitedly, Astrid pulled her new staff from her inventory and read the description.
Divine quarterstaff of Deception
lv 1
Received as quest reward
Category: weapon
Normal attack, any spell: the damage delt is dependent on the spell used
Special attack, club: deals 25 hp damage
Normally magical quarterstaffs weren’t meant to be used as a club to hit people as they were prone to breaking, so that had to be a trait Sham had given it. Still, it was a nice staff and now she had an extra weapon she could use when she went out for quests in the forest.
New quest from the god of Deception
Objective: use any kind of deception magic 0/1
Reward: 1 large copper
Recurring: daily
That couldn’t be good. The god of Deception seemed determined to mess with her life. She considered ignoring the quest but decided it wouldn’t be worth it. After all, it was only one spell a day, and the reward would be enough to cover her school. With the dwindling number of quests she could take and the rising prices on basically everything, she had already begun using her savings to cover daily expenses. Sure, she had the small silver coin, but unless you needed to buy a whole lot of stuff or something very expensive, she couldn’t use it. Normal shops simply couldn’t give you money back.
There were a few high-end stores that would accept it, but right now she didn’t need anything they sold. She had heard of a place that could exchange it into large coppers, but they also took a transaction fee. She wasn’t willing to pay that unless she was in desperate need of money, so she had decided to hold on to the coin for now.
She looked at her skill for deception magic. It was among many of the skills she didn’t want to use. She had hoped she’d never have to use this skill, but Sham had other plans, and now she was left with no choice.
Thinking back on the spells she had just read about, she decided to settle on one that seemed to be the least offensive. It was a simple illusion spell that worked a bit like the cloak she already used all the time. The spell would make Astrid appear unremarkable to everyone else, making it unlikely that anyone would pay attention to her or remember seeing her.
The spell also had the benefit of being simple, hardly requiring any movement from the caster. A small wiggle forth and back with the top of the staff and then tap it on the ground while saying the name of the spell: conceal. The spell itself had a cost of five mana.
Wanting nothing more to get the new quest over with, she cast the spell.
Quest from the god of Deception complete
Objective: use any kind of deception magic 1/1
Reward: 1 large copper
Recurring: daily
That confirmed that it worked.
Astrid looked at the book still lying on her bed. Reading it had unlocked a good number of skills, and as she struggled to remember them all, she decided to take a closer look at her skill list.
Animal care: level 1
Climbing: level 1
Deception magic: level 1
Defensive magic: level 1
Knife fighting: level 1
Illusions: level 1
Lockpicking: level 1
Lying: level 1
Monster slaying: level 1
Offensive magic: level 1
Plant care: level 1
Poison: level 1
Running: level 2
Stealing: level 1
Stealth: level 1
Swimming: level 1
Traps: level 1
All the skills were in level one except her running skill. Despite her reluctance to do so, she had used several of the skills from the book already. The lying skill alone was already halfway to level two help forwards by the skill gain bonus the book provided.
She closed her skill list again, trying to decide what to do next. As there were still plenty of hours until the gates closed for the night, she decided to go to the job hall. Maybe someone had posted new quests on the noticeboard by now.
*
The job hall was empty except for Lennard, who sat at his usual spot behind the counter.
“Hi Astrid, Long time no see,” he greeted her as she entered.
“I had a few things I needed to do,” she answered, hoping Lennard wouldn't ask questions. She wouldn't know what to say if he did. “Are there any new quests?”
“No. With everyone focused on preparing for the harvest festival, very few jobs have been posted here. What is your contribution to the harvest festival?”
That was another thing Astrid had to decide, and maybe Lennard would be able to help.
“I’m not sure yet. Do you have any suggestions for me?”
“Hmm, most people with fighting experience are on harvest lookout.”
“What’s harvest lookout?”
“Its people standing guard while the farmers harvest the crops.”
“You need guards for that?” At home, Astrid had never had a guard when she helped with the harvest, so the concept seemed strange.
“Well, the major want as much of the crops harvested as possible, and no one wants to do it because of the monsters unless they have someone to protect them.”
“That makes sense. I think I’ll go see if they want my help.”
Astrid left the job hall and went to the fields just outside the city gates. A lot of people stood bent over, cutting grain or pulling up vegetables. A few people stood staring at the forest edge. They had to be the guards, so she went over to the nearest one and offered her help.
A few minutes later she had been assigned to a field where the harvest had yet to begin. A few farmers followed her, looking a bit uncertain about working so close to the forest. Astrid had to admit she was a little uncomfortable too. Being only fifty yards from the forest edge wouldn’t give her much time to react to a threat, and right now she was responsible for more lives than just her own. She took a deep breath, trying to reassure the farmers that she had everything under control as they began working.
Knowing she couldn’t afford to make any mistakes, he kept her quarterstaff loaded with mana and ready to fire a basic blast at a moment’s notice. Her eyes were constantly scouring the surroundings for movements that could belong to monsters. Maybe she could set up a protective barrier so no monster could get close to the farmers. She discarded the thought. It wouldn’t do anyone to know she could do that, as it would make it clear she was a follower of a god, as they were the only ones who could cast such a spell. Besides, if the protective barrier was a viable option, the priests would already have been out here setting it up.
The light was fading quickly as she stood guard. The plan was to keep working until the darkness made it impossible to continue. Movement caught her attention. It was too dark to make out any details, but a dark silhouette was slowly exiting the bushes by the tree line. It was staying close to the ground, quickly moving closer to one of the farmers she was meant to protect.
Not on my watch, she thought as she aimed her staff at the approaching monster and fired.