Chapter 47
The Daily Quest
At one point early on in my career, I had to work twelve hour shifts. Now this wasn’t the same as the fourteen hour shifts I had been assigned at the Mage’s Guild hall, as these were twelve full hours of work. With the Mage’s Guild hall during the downtime, that is when patients weren’t coming in seeking treatment I was allowed to do pretty much what I wanted. I could go to the restricted sections of the library and read. I could practice on different aspects of my magic, or practice on different skills that I now freely qualified for as a member of the guild’s elite staffing. So that’s what I did.
Now that I am effectively on half days, or only having to be bound to my guild office for seven hours, I am reminded of that time back in my old life. Back when I had to work twelve hour shifts constantly, doing mental equations due to having so many people quit or leave. Then when we brought up the complaint to management, that our then half day, where we only had to work six hours on one day a week was being taken away, the then leader spoke up and said, “the way I see it you have a half day every day, those twelve hours that you are not on shift, those are yours to do with as you please.”
So that became our rallying cry when we finished a new shift, “I’m about to take my half day.” Or “I don’t know why more people don’t join us, they do use that as part of the sales pitch, right? Join us and get a half day every day? Who wouldn’t want that?”
I remember those moments from my past, and realize that I once again get my half day every day. Of course, just as it has been given, it can be taken away just as quickly, this is why I have taken great pains to keep my nose clean. Well at least to give it the appearance of being clean.
When I came up with the idea for the blind book club, and how we were giving back to the community I was at first encouraged. Then when it was realized we couldn’t host so many people on Mage Guild territory, I found a solution. Working with a recently established business owner and future pillar of the community, I managed to get a room big enough to accommodate all of us for a few hours. Unfortunately given the content of the books, I didn’t quite feel comfortable just reading the books out in public, particularly if children could just come in. This was yet another point in the favor of the establishment that I had chosen.
“Tell me why again you feel it necessary to host your book club at Lucky’s Card Hall?” The Guild Master asked.
I had of course been preparing for this, which was why I had answers to any question he could offer. “Logically Lucky’s checks all the boxes. We will read books before the place opens for business. It is an establishment that has rooms where we can seclude ourselves and discuss the content freely without fear of being judged. It is right next door, so I don’t have to worry about not being able to be found in case of an emergency. They have guards on staff that will help guide and protect me going to and from their establishment.”
I can see that he is trying to come up with some form of argument as to why this is still a bad idea, but he appears to be coming up dry.
“I just don’t understand why you would need such privacy for a book club, what exactly are you reading?”
Shaming, he is trying to shame me. Now if I was a real thirteen year old reading these works, I might have backed down. Yet, I have lived through a lifetime of such arguments and recalling my granddaughter’s own remarks when I caught her doing the same, I feel a slight smile as I remember her arguments that were used against me. “We are reading and discussing ways to push our minds and our senses beyond what is deemed acceptable, not to break away from societal conventions, but to understand why those conventions are in place at all. To not explore the depth of thought possible we lose sight of why boundaries exist in the first place. By reading about worlds where those boundaries are pushed back and expanded upon, we can begin to grow not only ourselves, but understand the framework that was provided to us by the original founders of a community. Without freedom to read and explore thoughts we are doomed to stagnation, and worse likely regression.”
I pause, taking in a particularly deep breath after that, as I realize I might have gotten a little too impassioned.
Panting.
I think I said all of that on one breath, at least that is what it feels like as I stare at the Guild Master. He pauses for a moment, then basically said what I did when confronted with such a well-articulated response.
“Very well, I can see that you have thought about this, and I will not speak out on this matter anymore.” He says, giving a slight bow.
“Thank you.” I say, as I bow myself, though my bow is mostly a sigh of relief. But I did get a new system message at that.
Hidden Quest Updated: Crossroad’s Book Club: You have founded the first book club of the town of Crossroads. You have taken care of the most important part, where your group will meet. Working together with local business owners, you have secured a safe location where you and others can meet and discuss books. Continue to meet and read about ongoing series. This questline has changed from a Series to a Daily task that can be accomplished. Rewards: Experience, access to rare book series.
Then just like that, I saw the new text prompt to make sure I was reading it correctly.
Daily Quest (Repeatable): Crossroad’s Book Club: You have founded the first book club of the town of Crossroads. Meet up with at least three other members of the club and read for an hour to receive full benefits of this quest. Conditions: People (0/3) Time: Minutes (0/60). Rewards: Experience (60), access to rare book series.
I nearly jumped for joy at that. I had somehow managed to create a repeatable quest line of just reading for sixty minutes a day to three people. Honestly, it was a dream come true. Daily quests are tough, and most are super annoying and provide little experience for a huge time commitment. While I wasn’t overly impressed with the amount of experience, the fact that I could do so repeatedly meant that if we met early enough, I could easily complete the same quest four or even five times in the same day. Yes, the quest was designed in such a way that I could not only complete it daily, but multiple times each day. Also, the time to reward aspect was nearly perfect, especially considering this was supposed to be a level 10 zone. While I have not gone out exploring the recent changes too much, it seems that the town of Crossroads has drastically gone beyond that level ten status, and gone on to be as high as needed to secure this area within the new tower.
I still didn’t know what exactly was happening, but I was fairly happy with the way things were progressing. I was a valued member of the Mage’s Guild, even having a new badge denoting myself as a Doctor, which should grant me easy access to any country, despite my still dwindling Second Class Citizen flaws. I was also in the process of trying to meet up with Lenny, the gnome boss member and owner of Lucky’s Gambling Hall. Also, big surprise, Lenny’s building is now the official Thieves Guild Hall for the Crossroads. I didn’t exactly know where the other one was, but its entrance had been destroyed when the regressors went full murder hobo on the town. While the guild hall itself wasn’t destroyed, its entrance being destroyed was apparently enough for the guild to consider moving. Then once they were given a prominent spot at the heart of the town, everything just fell into place for Lenny. This was good, as it also meant that Lenny became the new defacto leader of the Thieves Guild. The former leader was a dark elf who had died in the previously mentioned raid.
Of course once Lenny took over, he was granted access to all the Thieves Guild records, which is when he found out I was not just another pretty face suffering from a bloodline curse.
***
I was just leaving the club’s room. Reymel of course kept taking his books home with him, despite my begging and pleading to bring them right back.
“Think of it as insurance, this way I know you will come back tomorrow.” Reymel said.
He wasn’t wrong, I would definitely come back tomorrow, if only to find out what happened next. But it was driving me crazy, knowing that the ending was so close. Also, Reymel was right, the story only got better, still I wanted to know what happened next. It also didn’t help that I needed as many hours of reading possible to get to the 183 and a third hours I needed to earn the approximate eleven thousand experience needed to go from level 20 to level 25. Why was level 25 so important? Simple it was my next class evolution. Also, it was the point where I could learn a second class, but that was not in the plans for the moment. For now, I just wanted to get to level 25 and see what options were available. I knew for a fact that some people had the option for physical adaptations. Some holy paladins chose to go for angelic wings, to counter the dark paladins who went with devil wings to fly. Yes, flight, personal flight. It was often a skill and one that was not that common, but flight could be what I am given as a class evolution choice. Of course, there is again just the mild annoyance of the 183 and a third hours of reading needed to get there. Granted after these last two sessions, I am now down to just 177 hours. Yes, I am pacing myself at three hours a day, which is terrible as I am now so close to finding out what the ending of book eight will be, but I now have to wait until tomorrow.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
“Leaving so soon?” Lenny the gnome asks.
At that, I pause to look at Lenny. By now he knows the truth, that I am totally blind, and that this is just an act I put on for others, but it is good to keep practicing. Also, I can’t help but notice that this does improve my Acting skill as times goes on.
“Yes. How are the tables?” I ask.
“Hah.” Lenny just scoffs. “We are still rebuilding. In fact, you are lucky we are able to accommodate your club at all.”
Hearing this, I can tell that there is an angle to this, that he is trying for something, but I don’t quite know what that angle is.
“Oh, well then thank you.” I say, giving a bow.
“You know, things would work a little faster if I had competent help.”
“Sorry, but I am terrible with a hammer and nails.” I state, and honestly Carpentry is one of those skills I have not gotten yet, not that it is even on the top 100 of my skills lists to earn.
“Not that kind of help, though now that you mention it, we could use a few more construction workers as well. No, what I am referring to is a number two.”
At that, I pause, as I can all but feel the system message being generated now. In the Thieves Guild the number two, well in any guild really, the number two is the patsy. A good number two is the jerk that enforces the rules, and makes it so the guild leader doesn’t look like a jerk. The enforcer goes around making sure guild dues are paid on time, they file the paperwork that will generally terminate a member who acts against the guild, and generally do a lot of the grunt work. For the Thieves Guild, such a person needs to not only be ruthlessly strong, but able to take a dagger to the back. As that is who the number two will tick off, the guild members, many of whom are aspiring assassins.
“Good luck with that, I truly do feel for you.” I say, sidestepping the position and task all together.
“Now come on. At least hear me out.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I am dealing with a lot of issues on my own.” I say, obviously referring to the fact that I am still trying to keep my head above water at the Mage’s Guild as their acting Healer. I have learned a lot, and have found workarounds for most of the cases I have come across. My most important cure of course comes from my learning to cleanse toxicity from the denizens of this community. It is still happening, though now that we are no longer dealing with Detoxifying potions, the process is a lot easier to get ahead of.
“I know. Which is why I figured I’d tell you my options, before you truly close the door on this deal.” He states.
At this, I can feel the proverbial noose tightening around my neck as I am certain he is going to state something that I don’t want to hear.
“Go on.”
“Well, my current choices come from the members of the community here, many of whom were under the leadership of the old management. To me, this sets off red flags as it means they likely feel entitled to a promotion at the very least, which the guild is pushing me towards. Of course, that also means that the number two for this guild will be a dark elf. Someone for whom I know you have troubles with.” He states, referring to the fact that for the moment I have been saved from the conditions of my bloodline curse mainly due to technicalities. The biggest one being that while all the members of my book club have been dark elves, they cannot see my face and eyes and thus are not aware of my currently cursed condition.
Also I have my face and eyes covered when I treat others and when I enter into town, to avoid being noticed for that very reason.
“So it’s extortion? Either I take the position, or you tell this number two?”
“Me tell? Who do you think I am. No, I am just giving you a courteous understanding of the processes here at the guild hall. When anyone is promoted to leader or assistant leader of any guild hall they gain all access to all local member’s current conditions and standings.” Lenny begins.
I pause, as I realize I didn’t have an issue with this during the last regime, I even go so far as to state that.
“That is definitely the case, particularly as none were aware of your condition then. However, I had to request a few items needed as part of your cleansing process. Items that are at the very least considered to be controlled substances by the guild. When asked why I needed such controlled substances, I had to then update your card with your current medical standing. While only the main branch manager and I have this knowledge, a new number two will have access to this registry.” He states.
I pause, hearing that, and realizing it was a perfect trap.
“Wow. I do have to say, I am impressed. The levels you went to get this all-in place are masterful indeed.” I say, as I guess I should have expected some type of coercion from Lenny given our original conversation with each other. During that time, he had mentioned that he would help, but I was not quite expecting this level of sophistication and schemes within schemes.
“I assure you that I did not mean for this to get to this point. In fact, I had hoped to make a simple request on your behalf and keep your condition anonymous. Yet, the items needed for your particular bloodline curse are quite intricate. Normally, we would tell you just to purge your bloodline and be done with it, but that does not seem to be the case with yours. Instead, we would need to convert your bloodline.”
“Convert it?”
“Yes, we need to convert it, or else it could have a direct impact on your very soul. As a Shade Touched, you were chosen at birth by one of the darker gods of the realms.” Lenny says, waving a hand as if I somehow forgot that we are still within the spirit realm. “To remove such a mark especially while here, will require you to alter the bloodline completely.”
“How would I do that?”
“Glad you asked. You see, normally you could go on a massive quest gathering hundreds of different rare and hard to get items. Then find a magical way to burn away certain parts of your bloodline and have them replaced by newer components that you want your awakened bloodline to have, and hope they stick.”
And at that, I feel the sales pitch coming.
“So, if that is what I would normally need to do, then what do I actually need to do?” I ask.
“Well, if you were a guild assistant, you could directly create your own personal questline up for anyone to grab and perform as needed. Then you might have to ask your guild leader to find a formula of purging and way to absorb the different ingredients you have acquired. This might also require connections to the Apothecary guild, which your handy guild master could also cover for you…”
“I have the Apothecary angle covered.” I say, cutting him off.
At that he pauses and then looks at me. “That’s right, I forgot you are a penta-corn.”
“A penta what?”
“A penta-corn. Like a unicorn, but for all five guilds. We refer to your kind as a penta-corn, as you can go to any guild hall and pose as anything. That is partly why I want you to act as my number two.”
“I am no enforcer.” I state, flatly.
“I don’t need you to be. In fact, I have more hired muscle than might normally be necessary. No, what I need from you is the ability to find information, something that I understand is your specialty.” Lenny states.
“I just don’t see myself as being a number two for any guild, let alone at this point in my life.” I state, still not feeling convinced.
“That’s just it, I have my real number two coming, though he is already out on a deep cover mission. I just need you to cover for three months, six tops. What do you say?” Lenny asks, a slight pleading look on his face. How often do you see that, the Thieves Guild leader begging you for assistance.
Hidden Quest Found: Thieves Guild Second In Command: Lenny ‘Lucky’ Bigsly is in a bind as the new Thieves Guild Leader. He has his people coming in, but they will not be here until much later. He needs you to fill in as his personal informant for the next few months while his people get free of their current tasks. Time three to six months. Rewards: Experience, Skills, help with your personal Bloodline Quest, personal reputation with the Crossroads Thieves Guild manager, variable. Quest Conditions: Time remaining in months: (0/3) standard reward, (0/6) maximum reward.
Seeing that message, I couldn’t help but see this as a good thing. It seems that the system was all but giftwrapping a possible solution to my seven point flaw. I had a feeling that quitting after three months would be enough to alter my bloodline curse enough to no longer be the full detriment that it was. While the six month would no doubt be a way to take the same level of proposed advantages and alter them to something more suited to my personality. This was potentially huge, as it was taking a power that could literally absorb souls for power, and change it to something equally as powerful, while likely just as unique.
“Okay.” I say.
“Okay?” He asks.
I just nod, and repeat “okay. I’m in. No killing, no enforcing. Just strictly information gathering.”
Chime.
At that, I feel a mental chime go off in my mind as I get yet another system message.
Quest Updated: Curse of the Shade Touched Bloodline: You had within you the blood of the Gods of Darkness. Due to your inability or reluctance to take the gift that has been bestowed upon you, your blessing is now a curse. For failing to take the power of the Dark Gods’ power, you will be cursed until you can remove the markings of your tainted bloodline from your body. You have entrusted your secret with Lenny ‘Lucky’ Bigsly and in exchange for working for him, have been promised to alter your awakened bloodline so it is no longer a curse. Reward: Experience, New Skills, removal of socially detriment flaws, (Optional: fully awakened beneficial bloodline). Quest Conditions: You must purge yourself of the corrupted Shade Touched essence that permeates your entire body. During this time, you will be seen as a cursed agent to all elven kind.
That message is it, enough to show me that this is the true way forward and that if I stick around for the full six months, I will have a new fully awakened bloodline that will be considered beneficial to me and my play style.
“Good. Now that we have that out of the way. Now I need to know what your capabilities are.”
At that, I just smile. “Well, did you know that two of your enforcers are stealing from you right now?” I ask, referring to two people who are set to guard a supply shed that is out back. There are only two guards there, one is clearly on duty scanning the area, while the other is sneaking back and taking just a portion of the supplies there.
“What? Show me now…” With that Lenny grabs me, then directs me to lead him to where this is happening. I do, and we catch the first guard standing there, with a shocked look on his face as he sees that the door is wide open, and his partner is nowhere to be found.
Lenny just gives a glare. Now I don’t know what type of glare it was, honestly it didn’t project well, but when a level 400+ anything just stares at you, your general inclination is to do what this guard did and just clam up.
"Hey, I got it..." The second guard says, excitedly coming form behind the door, with a vial clearly in his hand.
“You’ve got what exactly?” Lenny asks.
Looking down, the second guard sees that he clearly overlooked Lenny and his small stature. “Uh, boss…I uh…” He trails off.
And like that, I found myself offering a new line of services for the Crossroads Thieves Guild.